Archer seniors culminated their high school theater careers with the Salem Witch Trials in Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible.” The graduating seniors emphasized the bittersweet emotions surrounding their final production at Archer.

Senior actor Gabby Weltman said the last show made her “want to appreciate each moment.” 

“The Crucible” was Weltman’s fifth Archer performance, and she noted that the members of the cast were the highlights of her final show.

“[The cast and I] loved each other a lot,” she wrote in an email interview.

The cast consisted of eight freshmen, four sophomores, 10 juniors and four other seniors.

Senior Zoe Webb-Mack echoed Weltman’s sentiments, emphasizing the talent of this year’s cast and crew. 

“The cast and crew are always the best part of every show. In working through others’ experiences and investing our energy together into a focused, cohesive piece, there’s a real bond created between everyone working on a show,” Webb-Mack wrote. “It’s really special when forty people can come together to tell one meaningful story.”

Because this show has a “dark” storyline, as noted by Webb-Mack, “It’s a little unnerving and a little magical to have such intense emotions concentrated into one space,” she wrote in an email.

However, the emotions felt in the black box during the production were not only from the storyline. 

Senior Talia Natoli highlighted how her actual emotions of sadness mirrored those of her character. 

“About half-way through my last scene I think I realized it was the last time I would be performing in the Black Box, and I started crying for real,” she wrote in an email interview. 

As one of only four seniors participating in the play, Natoli particularly enjoyed working with students in different grades. 

“This play was different for me because I was able to help and inspire the younger cast members,” she wrote. “Archer theatre, has, in more ways that I would probably like to admit, shaped me into the person I am today.”