Shimerman Co-Directs The Crucible

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Armin Shimerman is co-directing an “untraditional staging” of Arthur Miller‘s The Crucible along with Geoffrey Wade (Mad Men‘s ‘Hot Tooth’).

To promote the Antaeus Company production, the duo, with assistance from the play cast, have created a comedic mockumentary-style video.

The viral video shows the directors arguing with one another, showing the actors how to read their lines (and contradicting one another) and explains how close the directors are – to the point of even showering together! Although Shimerman appears to be unconvinced of their closeness!

“Old school advertising is out the window,” said Rob Nagle, one of three co-artistic directors of the company, “It’s now about paying attention, listening and interacting. This new frontier requires inventiveness, as well as profound originality. We must provide viewers with content that they want to watch and will share.”

The video may be all in good fun, but “we take the work very seriously,” explained Shimerman. “We don’t take ourselves very seriously.”

The four-and-a-half minute video was written and directed by filmmakers and actors Gabriel Diani and Etta Devine and it features members of The Crucible ensemble appearing as befuddled versions of themselves, including Bo Foxworth, Christopher Guilmet, Devon Sorvari, Ann Noble, John Prosky, John Allee, Joe Delafield, Rhonda Aldrich, Lily Knight, Fran Bennett, Dawn Didawick, Shannon Lee Clair, and Alexandra Goodman.

In The Crucible, “Arthur Miller‘s parable draws a chilling parallel between the Salem witch trials of 1692 and subsequent generations of American mass hysteria – up to the present. Through this savage tale of one small community’s too effortless descent into superstition and paranoia, Miller explores in frightening detail what can happen when fear clouds fact and blame replaces reason.”

Performances of The Crucible will take place May 16-July 7 on Thursdays and Fridays at 8 PM; Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM (no matinee performance on Saturday, May 18); and Sundays at 2 PM. There will be six previews, May 9-15: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday, all
at 8 pm, and Sunday 2 pm. Tickets to the Opening Night performances on May 16 and 17 are $34, after which all tickets are $30 on Thursdays and Fridays and $34 on Saturdays and Sundays; previews are $15.

The Antaeus Company is located at 5112 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA. Parking is available for $7 in the lot at 5125 Lankershim Blvd. (west side of the street), just south of Magnolia. The theater is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call 818-506-1983 or go to Antaeus.org.