Fire Still Burns In The Crucible

Our concept in directing this production of the crucible, is the statement, “A purifying fire still burns.” Although one may create a fire with the intention of doing good, if you should lose control of this fire, you would wreak havoc and destruction. Our production at Liberty University wishes to highlight the contrast between a town’s intention for good and the devastating destruction they created instead.

We were drawn to this concept for several reasons. The first being simply how important and relatable the concept still is today. We can see in the world and in our own lives, how often we desire to do good and are instead by our own desires or the fault of others led, down a path of ruin. As we researched this subject we began by looking at the definition of the play’s title. A crucible is “a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures.” Arthur Miller, when writing the play, saw the intense subjugation the characters needed to endure and also that they created, and named the play after that. We wished to take this intense pressure as a starting point and expand on it. Delving deeper into the subject we explored how easily these situations were created despite earlier intentions.

While not inherently evil in itself, fire, if not controlled properly is something that can create unspeakably devastating damage. It is a powerful tool which if used correctly can be of great service, our concept specifically relates to how fire is often used to purify many differents types of metal and make them more valuable and better then before they were touched by