Becky Nurse of Salem

Becky Nurse of Salem
February 13, 14, 20, 21 @ 7:30pm
February 15 @ 2:30pm
School Performance: February 17 at 11am

Hedrick Little Theatre 

Out of work and out of love, Becky Nurse is an ordinary but strong-willed grandmother just trying to get by in post-Obama America. She’s also the great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Rebecca Nurse, who was infamously executed for witchcraft in 1692 – but things have changed for women since then, haven’t they? Desperate to raise her troubled teenaged granddaughter right (and hoping to hook up with an old flame), Becky visits a local witch for help. But those spells and potions don’t work out exactly as planned.

Director’s Note by Ila Deese

“'Cause the circle of hatred continues unless we react. We gotta take the power back.”  - Take the Power Back by Rage Against the Machine

I had no idea just how relevant this production would become a little over a year ago when I read the Becky Nurse of Salem script for the first time. Don’t get me wrong, I always knew it would be an important story to tell. In January of 2025, I was constructing ideas for my honors thesis, and I knew this production would become the research project for it. That was also a significant time for the United States with the transfer of power into another administration. The past year has shown me how much we need this play right now. This production of Becky Nurse of Salem suggests that our reaction against the cycle of hatred, infighting, and mass hysteria should be an embrace of community, empathy, and love.

Becky Nurse is a flawed protagonist who shows us this, as a victim of her own actions and of the world around her. This production is full of moments that directly reference different witch hunts: the 1602 trials in Salem, the McCarthy era, and the Lock Her Up era. Though no “witches” were burned at the stake in Salem, MA in 1692, the image is certainly in the brains of most and therefore included in this production. As a whole, this show uses familiar stimuli from these different eras to help you think critically about Becky and her circumstances and to wonder if times have really changed for women in the past 334 years.

I have been interested in the Salem witch trials for as long as I can remember. It seems that productions involving witches have followed me throughout my time here at Catawba, from Mythos my freshman year to Carrie and Breadcrumbs last year. The summer before my senior year of high school, I visited Salem, MA for the first time. This past summer, I made the trip again for immersive research. I was even in a production of The Crucible by Arthur Miller my senior year of high school, so directing this show as a senior in college is a full circle moment for me.

Miller’s play was written as a reaction to the McCarthy Era, and it heavily influenced Sarah Ruhl to write this modern, feminist dark comedy. It also has influenced the general public’s understanding of the Salem witch trials, for better or worse. It is important to acknowledge that the accused innocents in Salem that were jailed, excommunicated, hanged, and pressed to death were not really witches and did not practice witchcraft.

Still, this show has a magic of its own that I am thrilled to share with a live audience each night. There’s no doubt that the different topics in this script are difficult to talk about. I only hope that you are here with an open mind and a love for theater. I hope you leave thinking critically about how you can influence the political world around you. And I hope this production leaves you hopeful for the country we could become.

 

The Shuford School of Performing Arts
The Theatre Arts Department

Presents

Becky Nurse of Salem

 

Written By

Sarah Ruhl

with

Adison Schwab
Gary Lane
Kris Wooten
Viper Schenck
Eva Walters
Allie Rahman
Mak Peterson Jones

Directed by

Ila Deese

Scenic Design

John Wampler

Costume/Makeup/Hair

Dr. Erin Dougherty

Lighting and Sound Design 

 Teresa Greene

Cast Members

  • Becky — Adison Schwab*
  • Bob — Gary Lane
  • Shelby — Kris Wooten
  • Stan — Viper Schenck
  • Witch — Eva Walters
  • Gail — Allie Rahman
  • Jailer/ Officer Friendly/ Magistrate/ Creepy Voice — Mak Petersen Jones

Creative

  • Director — Ila Deese*
  • Scenic Design — John Wampler
  • Costume/Makeup/Hair Design — Dr. Erin Dougherty 
  • Lighting Design — Teresa Greene* 
  • Intimacy & Fight Coordinator — Dr. Beth Homan 

Stage Operations

  • Stage Manager / Props — Autumn Perkins*
  • Assistant Stage Manager / Deck Manager — AG Anderson
  • Props Master — Oliver Avery 
  • Lightboard Operator — Jess Slapnik
  • Soundboard Operator - Zoë Logan*  
  • Deck/Run Crew — Clinton Efrid, Rylan Lowe, Andrew Grissom, Giana Tucciarone, Jovey McFarland*, Brenton Taylor
  • Wardrobe — Giana Tucciarone, Jovey McFarland*
*Denotes membership in Alpha Psi Omega, Alpha Alpha Pi Chapter

Becky Nurse of Salem is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com.

Content warnings: pyrotechnics, fog, stage smoking, sexual content, strong language, substance abuse, mention of self-harm and mental health struggles. Intended for mature audiences only.

The use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is prohibited. Please turn off all electronic devices.

This production of Becky Nurse of Salem has a 15-minute intermission.

Produced by Lincoln Center Theater, New York City, 2022

Originally commissioned by Tony Taccone and produced by Johanna Pfaelzer, Artistic Directors / Susan Medak, Managing Director

Developed with the support of New York Stage and Film & Vassar’s Powerhouse Season, Summer 2019

Playwright Sarah Ruhl
About the Playwright

Credit : Allie Rahman

Sarah Ruhl is an award-winning American playwright, author, essayist, and professor. A Tony award nominee, as well as a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, some of her works include the plays The Oldest Boy, Dear Elizabeth, Stage Kiss, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, The Clean House, Passion Play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Melancholy Play, For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday, Eurydice, How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, Orlando, Late: a cowboy song, a translation of The Three Sisters, and many others. Originally from Chicago, she received her M.F.A in Playwriting from Brown University, where she studied under Paula Vogel. Ruhl notes in her work that she attempts to “interpret how people subjectively experience life…‘Everyone has a great, horrible opera inside him. I feel that my plays, in a way, are very old-fashioned. They’re pre-Freudian in the sense that the Greeks and Shakespeare worked with similar assumptions. Catharsis isn’t a wound being excavated from childhood’” (Ruhl).  Her plays, having received numerous awards, have not only performed on and off-Broadway, but around the world, where they’ve been translated into over fifteen languages. Currently, she teaches at the Yale School of Drama, and lives in Brooklyn with her family.

About the Director
Ila Deese

Credit: Rylan Lowe

If you enjoy feminist interpretations of history, The Crucible, and witches, then come see the student-directed Main Stage production, Becky Nurse of Salem. You may be familiar with director Ila Deese’s previous work at Catawba. Last year she directed the Blue Masque production Breadcrumbs and assistant directed Carrie: The Musical. Playwright Sarah Ruhl stated, “[Becky Nurse] A dark contemporary comedy [that] follows Becky, a modern-day descendant of accused witch Rebecca Nurse in Salem. Becky, who works at the local witch museum, seems to be dogged by bad luck. Is it a curse from her past? Or her inability to navigate her present? Looking for love and redemption through spells, pills, and a bartender named Bob, Becky is a contemporary pilgrim for the Lock Her Up era. A play about the legacy of misogyny, witchcraft, and even Arthur Miller, Becky Nurse is a truth-teller for our times.” When asked why Ila chose this show for her Main Stage debut, she said, “I chose it because of a personal connection to The Crucible, and an interest in Sarah Ruhl’s feminist perspective on such a prominent time in history.” 

So, if this strikes your fancy, Becky Nurse of Salem is playing at the Hedrick Little Theater on February 13th, 14th, 20th, and 21st at 7:30 p.m. and 15th at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are live NOW at catawba.edu/theatretix.

The Salem Witch Trials
Rebecca Nurse Grave - Salem Witch Trial Memorial, 1992
Salem Witch Trial Memorial, 1992

Credit: Madison Alwran

The Salem Witch Trials refers to the trials and executions that were held in colonial Massachusetts in the late seventeenth century. About two-hundred Salemites were tried and accused of Witchcraft; a broad term used to describe individuals who were believed to practice the Devil’s magic. Out of the accused, nineteen were hanged, one was pressed to death, and five died in prison. The trials are infamous for their lack of evidence and reliance on eyewitness testimony. Since then, the term “Witch-hunts” has been used as an allegorical tool to describe many modern occurrences. 

Rebecca Nurse, the great-great-great-great-grand mother of our titular character, was a real life victim of the Salem Witch Trials. She was accused by two young girls named Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam Sr., along with a few others. They claimed to be afflicted by her “specters” and the Devil. When questioned by a Judge, her response was simply “I am as innocent as the child unborn.” Nurse maintained her innocence until her death on July 19th, 1692, aged seventy-one.

So, why is this relevant? 

In 2022, the last convicted victim of the Salem Witch Trials, Elizabeth Johnson Jr., was finally exonerated thanks to the initiative of a classroom of Massachusetts Eight Graders. To this day, Pennsylvania State Law states, “A person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree if he pretends for gain or lucre, to tell fortunes or predict future events, by cards, tokens, the inspection of the head or hands of any person…” This past month, a gothic themed coffee shop called Nocturna located here in Salisbury closed its doors due to “endless threats” and “unrelenting” harassment from the community. After the annual Christmas parade where Nocturna premiered a float featuring Krampus, a beast from European Folklore, owner Madison Moore received numerous threats and verbal attacks under suspicion of Satanic worship. To this day, we are still seeing the effects of widespread fear surrounding Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States.


Who’s Who — Cast

Adison Schwab

Adison Schwab (Becky Nurse) (she/her) , is a senior BFA Performance major at Catawba College, originally from Lyman, SC. She is thrilled to be working with the incredible cast and crew of Becky Nurse of Salem and is incredibly grateful for the chance to help share this story.

Her past credits include Ensemble in Urinetown, Margaret in Carrie: The Musical, Isla in Spring Awakening, Louise in Always, Patsy Cline, Della in The Cake (Catawba College), The Narrator in A Christmas Carol (Piedmont Players Theatre), and Margaret in Silent Sky (Lee Street Theatre), among many many others.

When she’s not on stage, Adison can usually be found with a book or camera in hand, writing her own shows, or playing Dungeons and Dragons with her friends . She extends heartfelt thanks to her family for their constant love and encouragement as she pursues her passion for acting. Available on all platforms as @Adison_Schwab
Gary Lane

Gary Lane (Bob) is first-year student and is excited to be a part of Becky Nurse of Salem. Previous credits include David Attenborough in A Night with David Ives, Daniel in Once on This Island, Mr. Womper in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Beetle in The Boy Preference, and more. He has also competed in the Blumey Awards as a Best Actor Finalist, and in statewide competitions such as NCTC. He’d like to send a thanks to his teachers, friends, partner, and family for their constant support. Much love!
Viper Schneck

Viper Schenck (Stan) (They/He) is a Freshman at Catawba College and is a BFA major in Theatre Arts with a concentration in directing & devising. You might recognize them from their performance in Love/Sick earlier this year; they’ve also had the pleasure of working various positions behind the scenes on A Night w/ David Ives and Urinetown. They’re thrilled to be performing alongside this amazing cast and crew, and hope you enjoy the show!
Allie Rahman

Allie Rahman (Gail) (they/he/she) is a second-year theatre arts student from Louisville, KY, with a dual major in Theatre Arts Performance/Design & Production and Entertainment Industries, as well as a Musical Theatre minor. At Catawba, you may have seen them onstage previously in The Revolutionists (Charlotte Corday), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lysander), or Urinetown (McQueen). You may have also seen some of their design work in A Night With David Ives (Costume Designer) or I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Asst. Costume Designer). They send so much love to the cast and crew of this bewitching production, and hope everyone has an amazing time at the show, though that much doesn’t need to be spelled out.
Kris Wooten

Kris Wooten (Shelby) (she/they/he) is a senior biology major from Winston-Salem, NC. You may have seen her in other productions at Catawba, such as Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Germaine), Spring Awakening (Adult Woman), and Carrie (Ensemble). They are excited to be in their first student production here at Catawba. She would like to thank the cast, crew, and director, Ila Deese, for making their senior show a special one!
Mak Peterson

Mak Petersen (Jailer/Officer Friendly/Magistrate/Creepy Voice) (he/him) is a freshman BFA Musical Theatre student here at Catawba. You may have previously seen him last semester acting in Love/Sick as Man, Andy, Bill, and Kevin or performing opening Urinetown as part of the Where Are The Diamonds? Improv Troupe. Mak is very excited to bring his characters to life in this production and hopes everyone enjoys the show!
Eva Walters
Eva Walters (Witch) — I am a freshman at Catawba College . I am a Psychology major with a minor in theatre arts. I have been in plenty of shows such as She Kills Monsters (Tilly), Dorothy in Wonderland (Mad Hatter), and A Evening with David Ives (Kafka & Allie). I am playing the Witch in Becky Nurse of Salem. Hope you enjoy the show!

Who’s Who — Production Team

Ila Deese

Ila Deese (Director) (she/her/hers) Ila is a senior BFA Directing and Devising major. You may have seen the last production she directed at Catawba, Breadcrumbs, or one of the musicals she assistant-directed, Carrie and Avenue Q. Most recently, Ila stage-managed An Evening With David Ives. Outside of rehearsals, she is proud to be the Business Manager for Alpha Psi Omega, the theater honors society. Ila is also a tutor for the Catawba College Writing Center. Ila would like to thank her family, her friends, and the theater department for their support. She also wants to thank you for supporting local theater and hopes you enjoy the show!
Autumn Perkins

Autumn Perkins (Stage Manager) (She/Her) is a Senior BFA Theatre Production and Design & BA Music Business double major from Lake Mary, Florida. She worked on Avenue Q as Stage Manager, No Exit, Spring Awakening, and Songs for a New World as ASM. She was also the Audio Engineer for Urinetown and Midsummer. You may also have seen her designs as ALD in Urinetown and Carrie, or her lighting designs in Hoke Venue for ADP’s and Vernaculars. She has also performed in Jekyll and Hyde (ensemble) at both Lee Street Theatre and Catawba College. Autumn is also very involved on campus as a Head Resident Assistant, the Executive Vice President of Catawba’s Student Government Association & a member of Alpha Psi Omega & Helen Foil. She hopes you enjoy her final show at Catawba College.

AG Anderson

AG Anderson (Assistant Stage Manager) (She/Her) is a freshman BFA Musical Theater and BA English double major with a minor in the Humanities. Previously, she performed in A Night with David Ives as Swift/May. When not in the theatre she is working at the campus library Help Desk or crafting in her dorm. She is excited to gain more experience backstage (and the colorcoding part of her job). Enjoy the show!

Oliver Avery

Oliver Avery (Props Master) (he/him) is a sophomore communications major. He has worked crew on Love/Sick, been cast in Urinetown, and is happily back in crew for Becky Nurse of Salem. He has always loved the theatrical arts and is excited to continue to pursue his passion at Catawba. When not in the theatre, Oliver loves drawing, listening to music, and spending time with his friends. He’s a part of Blue Masque and is often seen working in the campus library in between classes. He is thankful for everyone in his life who has supported him on and off the stage, and is thankful for being able to learn and be a part of such a wonderful production.
Teresa Greene

Teresa Greene is elated to be handling the light and sound design for Becky Nurse of Salem. She’s a senior at Catawba College, and this will be her last production as a student. Teresa is excited to use her designs to help tell the story and make the experience memorable for everyone!

Who’s Who — Crew


Jessica Slapnik

Jessica Slapnik (Light Board Operator)(They/them) (who is better known as Jess) is a sophomore at Catawba. They are a BFA in Musical Theatre and a BS in Theatre Arts Administration Major, as well as a dance minor. Some of their previous acting credits include: Urinetown (Dr. Billeaux/Dance Captain), Breadcrumbs (Beth/Mother), and The Phantom of the Opera (Meg Giry). Previous tech credits include: Love/Sick (Wardrobe Manager), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Wardrobe), and A Chorus Line (Choreographer). Jess has recently completed their first paid theatre job, being a cast member and lighting crew at Young Americans on the Midwest Summer Camp Tour 2025. They want to thank their family and friends for all of their support and hope you enjoy the wacky world of Becky Nurse of Salem!
Rylan Lowe

Rylan Lowe (Run Crew/Deck Crew) (He/Him) is a sophomore Entertainment Industries major and Theatre Arts minor. He is excited to be back, working with his peers once again. The last show he has worked tech on was The Revolutionists (Run Crew/Deck Crew).
Clinton Efird

Clinton Efird (Run Crew/Deck Crew) is a Sophomore at Catawba College.  His most venture was portraying Hot Blades Harry in Urinetown The Musical, and will be stepping into the role of Scarecrow this April. He has also performed in over twenty shows at varying theaters over the years. He would love to give praise to all of the talented minds that went into making this show a reality, and his thanks for letting the production team letting him be apart of this show.
Andrew Grissom

Andrew Grissom (Run Crew/Deck Crew) (he/him/his) is a sophomore double major in Musical Theatre and Theatre Arts Administration, here at Catawba College. He's excited to be on the Run Crew and have more experience backstage. Previously, Andrew worked backstage in both Breadcrumbs (ASM/Run Crew) and Urinetown (Run Crew).  He hopes you enjoy the show and all the work everyone has put into it!
Brenton Taylor Brenton Taylor (Run Crew/Deck Crew) is so excited to be a part of the team that brings you Becky Nurse of Salem. He is just a few months off his latest production, A Night With David Ives, and is hoping to help Catawba put on another amazing show. Some audience members may also remember him as George from last year’s Carrie: The Musical and previously played Schroeder in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. He would also like to express his gratitude to his friends and family for all of their support.
jovey mcfarland

Jovey McFarland (Wardrobe/Run Crew) (she/her) is incredibly excited to be a part of the crew for Becky Nurse of Salem! Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, she is a sophomore at Catawba  pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre. Some of her recent technical credits include Assistant Directing and Music Directing (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Fly Operator (Carrie) at Catawba College. She wants to thank her family for their continued support as she pursues her passion, even if it means being far from home. She also wants to thank everyone for coming to see the show to support Catawba Theatre!
Giana Tucciarone

Giana Tucciarone (Wardrobe/Run Crew) is excited to be assisting this talented cast! She has her AFA in Theatre Performance from Central Piedmont Community College and is currently working towards her BFA in Musical Theatre with a minor in Music. Some of her favorite roles include Lucy Van Pelt in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown  (Theatre Statesville), Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act (The Green Room), The Proprietor in Assassins (Old Colony Players) and Mrs. Winifred Banks in Mary Poppins, Jr. (The Piedmont Players). Thank you for being here. Enjoy the show!
Zoe Logan

Zoë Logan (SBO)  is a junior at catawba college studying Theatre: Performance. She has participated in productions like Urinetown (Hope Cladwell), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Titania/Hippolyta), Avenue Q (Gary Coleman), and Carrie (Miss Gardener). And while she has worked backstage positions before, she’s thrilled to have been given this new challenge.

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