AUDITION INFORMATION
AUDITION ANNOUNCEMENT
The Dio - Dining & Entertainment, Livingston County's award-winning professional theatre company, is thrilled to announce auditions for their upcoming production of THE CRUCIBLE, a dramatic thriller by Arthur Miller, directed by Steve DeBruyne. Video submissions only, accepted through Sunday, May 10. In-person callbacks will take place from 6pm to 11pm on Sunday, May 17 at The Dio, 177 E. Main Street, Pinckney MI, 48169.
CASTING NON-EQUITY ACTORS FOR THE FOLLOWING ROLES:
JOHN PROCTOR – Male presenting, late 30s – 40s. A local farmer who lives just outside town and the protagonist of the story; Elizabeth Proctor’s husband. A stern, harsh-tongued man, John hates hypocrisy. His hidden sin—his affair with Abigail Williams—proves his downfall. When the hysteria begins, he hesitates to expose Abigail as a fraud because he worries that his secret will be revealed and his good name ruined.
ELIZABETH PROCTOR – Female presenting, early 30s to 40s. John Proctor’s wife and mother of his children. She is supremely virtuous, but often cold, especially to John whom she can’t forgive for his unfaithfulness.
ABIGAIL WILLIAMS – Female presenting, adult actor age 18+ to play 17 years old. Reverend Parris’s niece and the antagonist. Abigail was once the servant for the Proctor household, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after discovering that Abigail had an affair with her husband, John. Smart, wily, a good liar, and vindictive when crossed, she uses her charismatic influence over the girls of Salem to gain power to supplant Elizabeth so she and John can marry.
REVEREND JOHN HALE – Male presenting, late 20s to 40s. A young minister and committed Christian. Reputed to be an expert on witchcraft, he is called in to Salem to examine Parris’s daughter. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.
REVEREND SAMUEL PARRIS – Male presenting, late 30s to 40s. Minister of Salem’s church, disliked by many residents because of his power-hungry, greedy, and domineering personality. He is more concerned about his reputation than the well-being of his sick daughter Betty.
BETTY PARRIS – Skilled child actor to play 12-year-old girl. This role requires strong physicality and emotional range. Reverend Parris’s daughter. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the girls dancing in the forest with Tituba. This role may be double cast.
TITUBA – Female presenting black actor, late 20s to 50s. Reverend Parris’s slave from Barbados. Tituba agrees to perform voodoo at Abigail’s request and tries to raise the spirits of Ann Putnam’s dead children. In the first scene, she is turned in as a witch by Abigail and under duress, accuses four other Salem women. By the final moments of the play, she is troubled to mental instability, haunted by hallucinations and hysteria.
MARY WARREN – Female presenting actor, age 18+ to play 17 years old. A timid servant in the Proctor household and a member of Abigail’s group of girls. Easily influenced by those around her, she tries unsuccessfully to expose the hoax but is thwarted by Abigail and the other girls. To save herself from accusations of witchcraft, Mary ultimately recants her confession and turns on John Proctor.
SUSANNA WALCOTT – Female presenting actor to play 16 years old. Will consider teen performers and actors age 18+ for this role. Susanna is a nervous and hasty girl, younger than Abigail. She works for Dr. Griggs. She participates in the ritual in the woods with Tituba.
MERCY LEWIS – Female presenting actor to play 16 years old. Will consider teen performers and actors age 18+ for this role. Servant to the Putnams, Mercy is a “sly, merciless girl.” She proves to be Abigail’s closest friend, sticking by her to the end.
ANN PUTNAM – Female presenting, late 40s to 60s. Thomas Putnam’s wife, has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is convinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.
THOMAS PUTNAM – Male presenting, late 40s to 60s. A wealthy, influential citizen of Salem, Putnam holds a grudge against Francis Nurse for preventing Putnam’s brother-in-law from being elected to the office of minister. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.
REBECCA NURSE – Female presenting actor to play age 50+. Francis Nurse’s wife. Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, pillar of the community, held in highest regard by most of the Salem community. Jealous of Nurse’s many children, the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft but Rebecca refuses to confess.
RANCIS NURSE – Male presenting actor to play age 50+. A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife.
GILES COREY – Male presenting actor to play age 60+. Elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. After Giles’s wife, Martha, is accused of witchcraft, he is held in contempt of court and pressed to death with large stones.
EZEKIAL CHEEVER – Male presenting, late 20s+. An astute but morally weak man from Salem who acts as the witch trials’ court clerk. This upright friend to most residents of Salem quickly turns on former friends and those accused of witchcraft, handling their arrests.
MARSHAL HERRICK – Male presenting, late 20s+. The marshal of Salem responsible for bringing defendants before the court. Sympathetic, he comes to disbelieve the witchcraft allegations.
JUDGE HATHORNE – Male presenting, mid-40s+. A judge who presides, along with Danforth, over the witch trials. Cold, ignorant and antagonistic, he denies any possible explanation other than witchcraft. Considered the “hanging judge” of the era.
JUDGE DANFORTH – Male presenting, mid-40s+. Deputy Governor of Massachusetts and presiding judge at the witch trials. Honest, scrupulous and the ultimate authority, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft.
SARAH GOOD – Female presenting, age 30+. One of the first to be accused of witchcraft, she is poor and often rejected from society. Pregnant at her trial, she gives birth in jail but the baby dies. The ordeal has affected her to the point of mental instability. She appears only briefly in the last scene and may be played by an actor playing another role in the show.
MARTHA COREY – this role is only a voice we hear and will be performed by an actor playing another role in the show, TBD. Giles Corey’s third wife. Martha’s tendency to hide the books she reads lead to her arrest and conviction for witchcraft. Only her voice is heard from offstage as she testifies before the court.
VIDEO SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare two monologues, no more than one minute each. Please film one from shoulders up, and one full body. Email video link to steve@diotheatre.com with your name and "The Crucible Submission" in the subject line. Unlisted YouTube links are preferred (make sure video is set to be viewed by anyone with the link).
Please include the following in your submission email: your headshot and resume, as well as a list of all conflicts from August 24 through October 25. Video submissions will be accepted through Sunday, May 10. In-person callbacks will take place from 6pm to 11pm on Sunday, May 17 at The Dio, 177 E. Main Street, Pinckney MI, 48169.
PAY:
All adult actors over the age of 18 receive a $150 stipend for rehearsal and $40 per performance ($870 total) plus a meal following each performance and two complimentary tickets. All child actors under the age of 18 receive a stipend of $75 for rehearsal and $20 per performance ($435 total). Adult actors with previous serving experience may choose to serve tables on select nights for additional tip money. Servers are scheduled on an alphabetic rotation.
*If any of the performances are cancelled for any reason, stipend will be reduced by $40 per cancelled show for adult actors, $20 per cancelled show for child actors. If performances are added, adult actors will be paid an additional $40 per added show, child actors will be paid an additional $20 per added show. Meals are subject to availability, based on the needs of the audience at any given performance.
REHEARSAL INFO:
Rehearsals will begin August 24, 2026, and take place at The Dio, 177 E. Main, Pinckney MI, 48169, Mondays through Fridays from 6pm to 10pm and Saturdays from noon to 6pm. Child actors will be released no later than 8:30pm on school nights until tech week, when they will be released no later than 10pm. Tech Saturday will take place from noon to midnight on September 12. Adult actors, please be aware that rehearsal may run later than 10pm during tech week, September 14 through September 17.
PERFORMANCE DATES AND TIMES:
*Call for evening performances is 7pm.
*Call for matinee performances is 1pm.
Friday, September 18 – evening
Saturday, September 19 – evening
Sunday, September 20 – matinee
Friday, September 25 - evening
Saturday, September 26 - evening
Sunday, September 27 - matinee
Friday, October 2 – evening
Saturday, October 3 - evening
Sunday, October 4 - matinee
*Thursday, October 8 – evening
Friday, October 9 - evening
Saturday, October 10 - evening
Sunday, October 11 - matinee
*Thursday, October 15 - evening
Friday, October 16 - evening
Saturday, October 17 - evening
Sunday, October 18 - matinee
*Thursday, October 22 - evening
Friday, October 23 - evening
Saturday, October 24 - evening
Sunday, October 25 – matinee
*indicates possible added performance.*
SHOW SYNOPSIS:
Widely considered a masterpiece, this timeless classic challenges American ideas of power, intolerance, and justice. In the Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts, a servant girl accuses a farmer’s wife of witchcraft. One accusation spirals into many, uncovering a web of bigotry and deceit that changes their lives forever. Among the most produced plays since its 1953 debut, THE CRUCIBLE is both a gripping historical drama and an evergreen parable of contemporary society.
IN THE SPIRIT OF SHARED HUMANITY AND A CONCERN FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD AT LARGE, WE AT The Dio CELEBRATE DIVERSITY AND AFFIRM OUR SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS MOST AT RISK. WE DISAVOW ALL RACISM AND HATE SPEECH OR ACTIONS THAT ATTEMPT TO SILENCE, THREATEN AND DEGRADE OTHERS. WE ENCOURAGE AND WELCOME BIPOC, AAPI, Latinx AND LGBTQ+ PERFORMERS TO ATTEND OUR AUDITIONS, AND TO JOIN OUR DIO FAMILY.
