English class can get much more eventful than you may expect: Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain takes place almost entirely within the classroom. The play is based on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which takes place during the Salem witch trials. In John Proctor is the Villain, set in the midst of the 2018 #METOO movement, high school students reinterpret the play in a way that allows them to draw parallels to their own lives.
In John Proctor is the Villain, actors must handle topics such as sexual assault and abuse with grace and demonstrate a thorough understanding of their characters’ perspectives. “We’re all doing the best we can, exhibiting [the story] in a respectful yet still accurate way. There are going to be some people who get it and think it’s important to talk about and speak out about, and there are going to be some people who think [we’re] too young for this or this is offensive. And to that, I just want to say that those kinds of reactions are why we need to do this play,” Mai Schotland (Class III), who plays Ivy, said. Running the play in 2025 creates a unique situation because the audience will be prompted to think about issues that are no longer fresh in people’s minds. “Different people are going to notice different things or have unique reactions depending on their own experiences. I think that’s a lot of what theater is,” Erin Campbell (Class II), who plays Raelynn, said.
When auditioning for the play, most students had not read The Crucible, but they later had dramaturgy workshops to learn about the novel and how it fits into John Proctor is the Villain. Knowledge about The Crucible was necessary for students to fully understand their characters: “It was definitely important for me to understand why my character would believe that John Proctor is a hero,” Rylan Singh (Class I), who played Carter Smith, said.
Spring mainstage casts are typically on the smaller side, which means students can have a more intimate and low-pressure setting to try theater. Jasmyn Cooper-Derba (Class I), who played Bailey Gallagher, describes her experience acting in an NTC production for the first time: “I come from a sports background[…] So those have their own set of nerves. But as I’ve been working on this play, there’s a different type of nerve that’s coming with it. That’s what makes me so excited to kind of test myself in a different aspect of performance,” Cooper said.
“Different people are going to notice different things or have unique reactions depending on their
own experiences. I think that’s a
lot of what theater is.”
This year, the cast also had the special opportunity to meet the work’s playwright. Singh describes this experience: “We had already done a bunch of research on the play, and we [had] started blocking some of the play[…] it was definitely helpful to ask questions that were specific to my character and how I should play my character, and to get a deeper understanding of what the playwright’s intentions were,” Singh said.
Currently, John Proctor is the Villain has mostly been performed by college theatre programs, rather than high school ones. “[Belflower] seemed really happy that there was a high school doing a show of it,” Alling Lubitz (Class II), who played Beth, said. Belflower trusted that high school programs and students could handle the play as well as college ones. “She noted that [she] never wanted to censor [her]self or change the play, just so high schoolers could do it. It was really important to her that she write her play the way she wanted to write it. It’s only possible for us to do this play here because the NTC has a history of producing challenging and intense work,” Performing Arts Faculty and Director Adaire Robinson-Bohnslav said.
Students and faculty have poured effort into every aspect of the play, from the acting to the set to the costumes. “I think the audience should expect to be very moved. I think that there will be a lot of fun, joy, and connection between the audience and the actors on stage throughout the course of the story,” Alex Mitchell (Class III), who played Mason, said. John Proctor is the Villain was originally meant to run in the spring of 2020, and after five years, it has finally made it to the Nobles stage. “For the NTC, it is a very long-awaited thing,” Mars Oliver-Martinez (Class III), who played Shelby, said.
