The Crucible images
At right you see Proctor's house. Too plain for you or me, but for purposes of the show it worked well enough. The replaceable wall now has a fireplace. The four identities for the wall were built flat-fashion and were fairly clumsy but not fatally heavy. They and the permanent walls of the room had cleats on the back; the crew lashed the unit into place with bungee cords. Changes were quick and smooth, which was a good thing because the Downstage walls kept the act curtain from working.
The show benefited by having a real woodworker in the cast. Jim Nuss manufactured several excellent pieces of furniture, which you can see closer up on the next page.
Here at left is the vestry ready for the witch trials. The throne over there is where the chief judge sits. It's one of the carved chairs that someone gave us many years ago, this time upholstered in black. The judges were played by Nathan and, um, was he called Neal? They gave me the horrors, they were so good. Neal apparently did not tell anyone he was getting his head shaved before opening night. It's the sort of thing that sends costumers and stage managers into conniptions, but this time it worked.
There appears to have been a design change that isn't in my notes. Instead of another molding "box" on the changeable wall, we seem to have a dark rectangular feature. Did I photograph the set with the "jail" wall in the vestry? These are deep waters.
Just about center in this photo you can see The Table, where the clerk recorded the proceedings. This was probably the hundredth time The Table had appeared in a show. If furniture stories are your thing, here's one.
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