Junior regular and honors English classes traveled to Chicago on Wednesday, Oct. 18, to watch The Crucible at the Steppenwolf Theatre.

This is a play based on Arthur Miller’s original play regarding the fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials taken place within the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

“The play incorporated some modern elements, such as some dance moves, drum music, and dialect,” said junior English teacher Jamie Foate. “The play followed the script of the book almost identically, but the stage was set in a way that emphasized the pressure of the hysteria, so everything was a lot more compact than the stage directions indicated in the book.”

According to the students, the field trip to the theatre opened up a new medium that allowed them to gain perspective and a new insight of the play they had previously read.

“The way the actors interpreted the book is how we see it in the play, so you see the play through their perspective, which personally made it more interesting for me and my other friends,” said junior Jack Clearwater.

Seeing The Crucible acted out not only increased the awareness of certain emotions the characters endured, but also gave a clear visual on what the scenes would look like if placed within reality.

“The play definitely opened my eyes, especially when Walter Jr. was shown and we as the audience got to see what he looked like and how he acted,” said junior Mitchell Kim. “I preferred the play over the book. When we got to see Gus, the audience saw just how dishonest he was and how truly evil he acted.”