When the Upper School (US) fall play cast started rehearsing Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” one role proved harder to fill than expected. Tituba, an enslaved woman whose accusation sparked the Salem witch trials, has become the center of US conversations about identity and representation in theater. US Theater Director Ross MacDonald said the challenge of casting Tituba raises larger questions: How do we tell the hard stories without silencing them, and who can — and should — tell them?
Tituba is the first character accused of witchcraft in “The Crucible.”
“Witches at this time were used as the scapegoat for all other things that were happening,” Mr. MacDonald said. “Salem Village was breaking away from Salem, and these accusations were coming in: ‘Are they getting blamed for the bad crops? Are they getting blamed for the instability? Are they getting blamed for the fearmongering?’”
Mr. MacDonald can relate to the play through his experience immigrating from Scotland.
“What Miller is trying to say is we blame those people who we view as inferior or view as ‘other,’ which is what’s happening in America with blaming immigrants,” Mr. MacDonald said. “Because of my experiences as an immigrant, I have some practical understanding as well as a huge deal of empathy and compassion for these people who are being hounded and blamed for everything. If we can’t show that, not only do we miss an important part of the story, but we do an injustice to the real Tituba. We don’t tell her story. And if we start canceling ourselves because we don’t want to tell uncomfortable stories, I fear that we’re just like the people who want to ban books.”
Tituba shows up twice in the script of “The Crucible,” in Act 1, Scene 1, and in Act 2, Scene 3. Believed to be from a South American tribe, Tituba doesn’t speak English as her first language and didn’t receive a formal education.
“We’ve got to tell Tituba’s story,” Mr. MacDonald said. “She’s more than just a victim. She represents persecution, oppression, and the victims of tyranny and blame. I care that theater is not just about entertainment. Theater is a platform through which we tell our stories, reflect humanity, create conversations and take a stand through art that sometimes you can’t do in any other way.”
Mr. MacDonald thought intentionally about the actor who would play Tituba, focusing on Tituba’s background. Ellis Wee ’27, who’s also playing Mary Warren, volunteered to be Tituba. Mr. MacDonald is still looking for an actor to play Tituba so Ellis can focus on her original role. Despite many emails to the student body, no one has stepped forward.
“Every time you look for an actor, there’s a different process,” he said. “When I ran theater companies, I always tried to cast in the most open and diverse way possible, always looking for talent rather than looking for specific types of actors. Tituba is challenging because I struggle with the idea of just writing out an email: ‘We need an actor of color to play the role.’ When I talked about her with the faculty and to ‘What’s Happening,’ I talked about her background and heritage.”
Especially with the role of Tituba, actors should be able to relate to their characters’ lived experiences, Mr. MacDonald said.
“One of the things we have to think about when we make those choices is, ‘Can I do this character justice? You’re going to do your research, look at what’s in the text and use your imagination. But the essential thing is that you’ve got to be able to be deep down in your soul, and you’ve got to have this core identity that can come out. It’s like casting a white actor to play Othello these days. We abused that for 400 years, and it’s a good job we’ve stopped doing it. There are some roles that anybody can play, and there are some roles not everybody can play.”
Mr. MacDonald spoke with US Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Global Education Practitioner Maria Graciela Alcid about approaching conversations around Tituba.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m worried about how we phrase this,’” he said. “We had a very positive conversation, and I tried to have conversations with the cast about looking for Tituba. Approaching Tituba, I’m very aware of the sensitivity about how we frame those conversations. We’ve found that some members of our community aren’t comfortable playing this character, and I’m talking about students who identify as from other backgrounds and appearances who are worried about playing that role.”
Alexandra Nassikas ’26 said Tituba wasn’t a desired role among the cast.
“Mr. MacDonald says to us a lot, ‘We need a Tituba. Talk to your friends, and find a Tituba.’ It’s challenging, at least in the cast, because even though Tituba is a very important role, and she drives a lot of the play, it isn’t a huge role. Tituba only appears in the very beginning, has a few lines and leaves. The way she speaks is a little outdated, so there are better opportunities for the cast and easier characters than Tituba.”
Mr. MacDonald educated the cast on Tituba’s background.
“At the very beginning, Mr. MacDonald talked about the importance of Tituba’s character, where she came from, who she was and why that’s so important in finding the right person to play her,” Alexandra said. “He doesn’t want to force someone to play Tituba because he doesn’t want someone to play her who doesn’t want to because of how important she is.”
Matthias Paulson ’26 said Tituba is an essential role despite her limited appearances.
“Tituba drives the entire conflict. If she weren’t there, the story wouldn’t go down the same way, so that’s why Mr. MacDonald wants to find one and for historical accuracy.”
Hailey Jiang ’26 agreed.
“If the background or ethnicity is important to the character or relevant to the story, then you should definitely keep the accuracy,” she said. “It would be awkward if anyone else played Tituba. That’s why it’s been such a problem.”
