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When the curtain closes on William Fleming High School's performance of "The Crucible," it will also signify the end of a four-year journey for some seniors.

After many productions and bonding with fellow peers, seniors in the crew will say farewell to acting at the school and working with one another.

"I've really grown to know these people," said Kelli Hobson, a senior who plays Elizabeth Proctor in the play. "But everything will change and everyone must move on, but I'm never going to forget this place."

Hobson said performing in productions at Fleming helped her come out of her introvert phase.

Senior Krista Borling, Abigail Williams in the play, said she too will miss Fleming. From the touch of the stage to the excitement she feels performing a role, she said moving on to college will be difficult.

"Because we left our souls here," said Borling about leaving the school. "Once you get into this theater, you don't get out."

And the two said their last performance will be dynamite.

Borling, who attended Fleming for theater instead of her neighborhood's Patrick Henry High School, said the cast and crew have performed for months to perfect their two weekend performances.

"It's blood, sweat and tears during rehearsals," she said, "and once you take a bow, it's worth it."

Borling said this weekend she will not just perform the role of Abigail Williams, she will become her.

"Your body gets so immersed in that character when she's shaking and crying, it affects you physically," said Borling, who keeps an inhaler backstage in case she is physically overwhelmed during the production. "But for a really good show, it's worth it. I'll risk an asthma attack."

One theme to watch is the relationship between the protagonist John Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, Hobson said.

"As the show goes on, you see these are two characters who love each other and want the best for each of them," she said. "You kind of understand them better when you see them together."

Larry Van Deventer, director of the play, said the students' performances will force the audience to face a hideous side of the human soul and the torment of a group of people.

"This was 1692, and yet today have we still learned," he said. "It boggles my mind. The injustices people face today."

But he wrote down notes and nodded his head in approval as he watched his students bring a distant memory from centuries ago to the present before him.

"They're ready for an audience," he said.