The cast is much more inexperienced than in previous years, but that doesn’t mean expectations have decreased any in the Big Spring High School Drama Department.

The BSHS thespians have effectively owned the District 4-4A One-Act Play competition the past several years and they hope to keep the string going when they stage “The Crucible” in district competition Thursday afternoon in the BSHS auditorium.

Drama Department Director Tracie Lindsey said this year’s cast is much younger than in previous years.

“We lost 14 seniors from last year,” she noted.

But expectations remain high, she quickly added.

“I’ve got a lot of young kids I’ve had to teach, but there’s always pressure to continue winning,” she said.

Lindsey had the youth of her charges in mind when she chose this year’s contest entry. After years of staging slightly obscure plays such as “Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead,” she decided better-known offerings  such as Arthur Miller’s dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials would be a better fit.

“With a younger group, it’s better to go with the classics,” she said. “There’s a lot of available research out there and a lot of my kids have read it.

“I’ve wanted to do this play for a long time,” Lindsey added. “I’m a fan of Arthur Miller ... and I want to do everything he’s ever written. It’s a story about a man’s guilt and a woman’s obsession — she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants and in that journey a lot of innocent people go to the gallows.”

The district play contest begins at 1 p.m. Thursday in the high school auditorium. BSHS will compete last — at approximately 5 p.m. — Lindsey said.

Admission is free.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331, ext. 234 or by e-mail at