A Voice in the Dark: A Salem Story
Welcome to the Groveport Madison High School Performing Arts Center, and thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for coming here to see A Voice in the Dark: A Salem Story. The cast, crew, production staff, and our incredible Boosters Organization have worked countless hours to put this production together for you, and I hope you find this theatrical experience as powerful and meaningful as I have found it to be through our work on it.
The Salem Witch Trials stand out in American history as a bizarre and unfortunate series of events, both fascinating and terrifying to our modern minds. We wonder what could have possibly led people to allow and even work towards the executions of dozens of their neighbors, friends, and even family members for a cause so seemingly ridiculous as accusations of witchcraft. Historians still debate about what might have caused these events to take place, but it is clear that the first accused were outcasts from society—people, mostly women, disliked by their neighbors for one reason or another, people who did not conform to the strict moral guidelines of Puritan society. These people were blamed for illnesses and misfortunes in the community that could not be explained by the limited science available at the time. The movement to accuse and execute witches gained traction, and soon no one was safe. Even some of the most prominent, righteous, God-fearing individuals in Salem were executed for charges of witchcraft, considered a capital offense in this theocratic society.
A Voice in the Dark: A Salem Story is a historical drama that has taken some artistic liberties with historical facts and persons, but every character in this play is based on a real person from the Salem Witch Trials. I encourage you to do some research on the people and the time period, perhaps even now on your phone as you wait for the play to begin; the cast and I have certainly found our research fascinating.
Told through the eyes of a teenager, this play asks us to consider whether it is more important to do everything we can to keep ourselves and our families safe, or to speak out for what we believe is right, no matter what the cost, when we believe that something is amiss in the world. It also asks us to look closer at those who are different from ourselves and see their humanity, the similarities between ourselves and them that exist alongside the differences. I believe these questions transcend the confines of this production and its historical setting; they are just as valuable, if not more so, in the world in which we find ourselves today.
I invite you to join us in exploring these questions tonight, as well as many others. We are thrilled to have you with us on this journey. Enjoy the show!
—Erin Graffis
Groveport Madison High School Theatre Teacher
Troupe Director, Troupe 3323, Cruiser Theatre Company
