This is a collection of 20 useful pages of Grade 9 GCSE Drama notes on The Crucible. This includes costumes for all characters; model set designs (with drawings) for each Act; some lighting & acting answers; in depth character breakdowns; and context of the play.
● Set in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts
● Puritan community
● A Crucible: a container that withstands heat and a test to bring change and/or reveal
one's true character.
● There are 8 days between Act 1 and Act 2 The morning sunlight shines on
Elizabeth's face through the jail window as the final image of Act 4.
● Act 1 – Spring
● Act 2 – Spring (8 days between Act 1 and 2)
● Act 3 – Spring
● Act 4 – Autumn (3 months later, in the morning, Autumn)
Costume:
Generic - Men: Tight breeches with garters, a long linen shirt, cuffs, stockings, a leather
waistcoat, felt buckle hats and leather boots.
Generic - Women: White flowy cotton shift under the dress, a long gown covering the body
from neck to toe, a brown homespun dress, a petticoat, a white apron over dress, low heeled
leather boots, long hair tied up but worn under a coif headgear to cover it. Authentic
traditional clothing that would be worn in a 17th century Puritan community.
Both:
● Capes and coats for outdoors.
● Lifestyle was simple and so clothes were plain.
● Clothes were patched up – they were too poor to buy new ones.
● They didn’t have bright coloured clothing as it was expensive and dyes were
vegetable based. Main colours for the working/lower class would consist of white,
grey, muted browns, yellows, greens and blues.
● These colours are typical of cotton, wool and linen. These fabrics could be homespun
and easily dyed naturally - so is cheaper for the working/lower class.
● Many layers were worn and the body was covered except for the hands and face -
Puritans were a highly religious community and wore nothing revealing, as they
banned fancy clothing and believed that showing skin was a sin.
Court, Nurse’s & Putnam’s:
● Fabrics like silk, satin and velvet
● The colour black
● Were allowed gold/silver lace, hoods, scarves and bright buttons - which the lower
class weren’t
● Shows the court members rank of magistrates and high status & the Nurse’s and
Putnam’s wealth as rich landowners.
Reverends (Hale and Parris):
● Stiff white clerical collar – Identifies them as Reverends, religious and working for the
church
● Black - expensive dye also
● Cross necklace
In Jail – Act 4 (Elizabeth, Tituba, Sarah Good, Proctor, Rebecca Nurse):
● Shawl – shows the jail is cold
, ● Purple eyeshadow and fake blood on wrists – due to the use of chains
● Hair is backcombed, and brown FX makeup powder smeared on the face and clothes
● Still wearing the same clothes as before, but now have slits in, ripped and tattered
● Lose shoes and are barefooted
● Yellow FX paint on teeth
● Pale makeup, dark around eyes
= Overall makes them look dirty, starved and ill-treated, showing they have been in the
prison for several months.
Character specific costume details:
Abigail Williams ● Dark green – represent her jealousy of Elizabeth
Proctor
● More form fitting at the top of dress and looser at the
bottom - to attract John
● Leather shoes with a small heel - to show height and
status and reinforces authority
Mary Warren ● Long sleeves and flexible fabric – Allow the action of
pulling the cuffs of the sleeves over the wrist, to show
she is nervous (her personality and of the
court/John/Abigail in Act 3)
● Blue – associated with servitude and she is a servant
● Flat pumps – ensures she is of smaller stature and
able to cower in fear
● Blush makeup – shows she’s childish and always
embaressed
Betty Parris ● White nightdress shows purity
● Still in her nightdress from the night the girls danced
● Nightdress has stains on from the woods and shows
she’s no longer innocent after dancing
● Too big for her – implies it’s a hand me down from
Abby and reinforces her younger age
● Matches bedding
● Makes her look ghostly and pale – reinforcing the idea
of witches and the supernatural
● Sleeping with a poppet – toy shows childish
innocence and forebodes that the poppet will be
important later
● Messy, backcombed hair – bad, restless sleep
Mercy Lewis ● Lighter shade of green – as Abby is in a green dress,
this shows that Mercy, like the other girls, is a follower
of Abby who is the leader
Susanna Walcott ● Apron – reflects she is a working woman and works
for a Doctor (Doctor Griggs)
Hopkins ● Worn clothing – reflects the bad working conditions of
the jail
● Coat – jail is cold
● Drink stains on coat – we know he enjoys “cider”
, John Proctor ● Patched up, stained, mucky costume and skin –
shows he is a farmer and worked long hours on the
land.
● Worn leather – meant to be durable so shows he
works hard and long
● Beard – shows masculinity and highlights age
difference between him and Abigail
● Rolled up sleeves - shows he works with his hands
● Muted brown/earthy colour - not bright and would not
have been an expensive colour/dye in the late 17th
century, so good for his class as a worker.
Elizabeth Proctor ● Plain colours – shows her plain personality
● Stains on her apron in Act 2 – shows the role of a
woman then, and that she’d been cooking “Rabbit”
● No apron and has tried to neaten her clothing up in
Act 3 – as she wants to look presentable in court
Giles Corey ● Grey comb over wig – shows his “old age”
Rebecca Nurse ● White clothing - represents her saintliness
● Brown clothing - represents her humility
● Long grey wig that is tied back – shows her old age of
‘seventy-two’
Tituba ● Yellow dress, leather boots and head scarf
● Yellow – a little more exotic, highlights her as different
and reflects on her Barbados background
● Act 4: Tattered yellow dress, barefoot, no head scarf
and her hair is lose
Sarah Good ● Tattered, dirty appearance and clothes with missing
items – as she is homeless. It makes her seem
immodest and further fuels the community’s bad
opinion of her.
Set:
Act 1: Betty’s bedroom
A small upper bedroom in the home of Reverend Parris, Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692.
The bedroom gives off an air of ‘Clean sparseness’, which I would create by keeping the
bedroom plain with no decoration. There would only be a bench, bed and bedside table with
the bible and cross on it and the bed would have white covers. This is simplistic to highlight
the simplicity of a Puritan lifestyle to the audience. I would also construct the flooring to look
like timber clad panels which would make the setting seem authentic and I would use flats to
create a wall with typical wooden design. It would reflect the Puritan style of simple wooden
buildings common in 17th century Salem. The angled roof contains a skylight on the light rig
and the natural white Fresnel light coming into the room would show that it is daytime.
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