Afflicted: Daughters of Salem

by Laurie Brooks

Full-Length / In 1691 Puritan New England, fear and superstition were rampant. Singing, dancing and amusement of any kind was forbidden. The devil was everywhere. Five girls coming of age in Salem Village, desperate for release of their thoughts and feelings, find an ally in Tituba, a black slave who longs for freedom. Deep in the woods the girls make a pact and build a sisterhood. Then alliances are formed, promises made and broken, power taken. Daughters of Salem tells the story of the Salem girls—Abigail Williams, the leader, Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren and Betty Parris, and the events that led up to the infamous Salem witch trials. This origin story examines how these teenage girls became accusers and caused 20 people to be put to death for witching. An interactive forum that explores the accusers and their community is built into the play, encouraging reflection and is ideal for complimenting classroom work. This play is a must for deeper engagement alongside any study of the Salem witch trials. Daughters of Salem, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, explores not only the history and causes of the trials but also how girls raised in oppression have negotiated alliances and power throughout history just as they do today. ( 6w.)

Genres: Plays

58 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2014

About the author

Laurie Brooks is an award-winning playwright and YA fiction author.

Awards and grants include TCG's National Theatre Artists Residency Program, AT&T Firststage award, three Distinguished Play Awards and the Charlotte Chorpenning Cup from AATE, NY Foundation for the Arts, and Irish Arts Council Commissioning Grant (with Graffiti Theatre Company, Cork, Ireland).

Brooks' Lies and Deceptions Quartet for young adults includes The Wrestling Season, commissioned by The Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, MO, featured at The Kennedy Center's One Theatre World, printed in the Playscript Series, November 2000, American Theatre magazine, and winner of "Best of" awards in Seattle, Kansas City and Dallas.

Additional award-winning plays include Deadly Weapons, The Tangled Web, Everyday Heroes.

Selkie, Devon's Hurt, The Match Girl's Gift, Franklin's Apprentice, The Lost Ones and Brave No World, commissioned and premiered at The Kennedy Center in 2006.

Brooks has worked extensively in Ireland and has been Professor and Playwright in Residence at New York University. She has served as playwright in residence for the HYPE Institute at the ALLEY Theatre in Houston and has been guest lecturer at University of Missouri Kansas City (2005), The University of Texas at Austin (2006), and as Artist in Residence at Arizona State University in 2007-08. Her article, "Put A Little Boal in Your Theatre: A New Model for Talkbacks" appeared in American Theatre magazine and she was a featured artist at the 2007 TCG National Conference at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis.

Brooks' book for young adults, Selkie Girl, is available in fine bookstores from Knopf—in hardcover and also as an ebook!

Reviews

[Zachary Pareizs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for anything The Crucible related, so…. Interesting how it nearly sidesteps any involvement of John Proctor in this pre/side-quel.