Cry Innocent at Ingersoll’s Ordinary
We at History Alive, Inc. have decided to focus on getting a classroom length (50-minute) version of an interactive, multimedia Cry Innocent: the People Versus Bridget Bishop to students, whether they are learning at home or learning in a physical classroom with their teachers. This version of Cry Innocent brings the participant into Salem Village as a guest at Ingersoll’s Ordinary (the tavern) where the pre-trial examination of Bridget Bishop is happening in the back room. The Ingersolls, who host the experience, run the tavern and hear all the gossip. They are hungry for more detail and it’s the audience’s job to spy on the proceedings and tell them what they’re missing. The Ingersolls can also answer all kinds of questions about the characters, since barkeeps know pretty much everything about a small community.
Our interactive experience is $250 per session and designed for classes of up to 25 participants. Program can be booked by selecting available dates from the calendar below. To request other dates or times, please email query@historyalivesalem.com.
We are fortunate to have gathered footage from Cry Innocent, in the authentic reproduction setting of Salem 1630: Pioneer Village, when we celebrated the show’s 21st birthday a few years back. Through Vimeo and Zoom we’ll be offering this filmed version of the show, with real-time, interactive hosting so that our audiences can be part of the experience from a location of their choice. We know it’s not the same as examining Bridget’s property with their hands, or sketching the live court scene, or absorbing the feeling of the crowd in the room, or influencing fellow jurors with their arguments, but we’ve realized that what we have in this filmed version are qualities the audience could not have experienced live in the Old Town Hall, CoVid or not: vibrant images of 17th century material culture and architecture, a feeling of being in an intimate room, and more opportunity to enter into a conversation than can be done in a large crowd.
As of August 23, 2020, this new virtual program is currently being made available on Fridays beginning in October 2020. To receive notice when this program is available at additional times or to request availability for specific dates, please email query@historyalivesalem.com.
In 1692, Bridget Bishop is questioned at her pre-trial examination at Ingersoll’s Ordinary in Salem Village. Ezekiel Cheever records the testimony while Judge John Hathorne leads the proceedings and Reverend Hale looks on.
