The University of Massachusetts Theater Department kicked off its 2024-25 season with a production of “John Proctor Is The Villain.” Written by Kimberly Belflower and directed by Kyle Boatwright, the show was performed in the Curtain Theater of the Bromery Center for the Arts and ran from Oct. 25 to Nov. 2.
“John Proctor Is The Villain” brings viewers to a high school English classroom in rural Georgia for a new lesson of Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible.” The production’s dramaturg, David Keohane, writes in the playbill, “The 1953 play compares the Salem witch trials to the Red Scare, a campaign led by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy in the late 1940s and 1950s persecuting people accused of being communists.” The English class discusses the supposed hero of the play, John Proctor.
The events in Miller’s 1953 play strangely mirror those in Belflower’s contemporary one. Set in 2018 during the height of the #MeToo movement, “John Proctor Is The Villain” follows witty young women who start a feminism club. The main characters – Shelby (played by Imani Bibuld), Raelynn (Lindsay Forauer), Nell (Aracelli Sierra), Beth (Aleah Tarjick) and Ivy (Ava Pappalardo) – experience their own unique struggles as situations surrounding sexual assault, harassment and grooming unravel in the school and town.
Belflower’s play uses familiar elements from high school, such as group projects, low funding for the arts, school crushes and ride-or-die friendships. Classroom desks align with audience seating. The amphitheater layout of the Curtain Theater allows viewers to sit with the perspectives of these young people.
Shelby, Rae, Nell, Beth and Ivy weigh in their voices, desires and feelings against those of their families and communities. Whose suffering takes priority? As a woman, what does it mean to build a relationship with yourself and spread the wings of your anger at the patriarchy? Inside and outside of the feminism club, the characters ask what does feminism really mean? They wrestle with these questions through heated discussions, screams, tears and laughter.
Boatwright reflected on what drew her to Belflower’s play. “As I got further into the script, I fell in love with it entirely: the ode to female friendship and joy; every angle of what it means to grow up in a female body, the confusion the victims face over whether they’re supposed to ‘want’ what’s happening to them, and what it means to be properly wanted; the idea that someone who is so wonderful on many levels can be truly terrible. What got me the most about this show, though, was the ongoing theme of seeing and being seen.”
The most compelling aspect of the play is the bond between the young women. It did not form easily, but out of a commitment to listen and believe each other. “The heroes of this show are the women … and they become the heroes by speaking their truth, really listening to each other and diving into empathy, and pushing into a world of freedom and love,” Boatwright said. The young women’s inside jokes and stories create an emotional closeness the audience wants to be part of.
Bibuld, who played Shelby, spoke about the process of becoming a character so charged with internal conflict. This conflict developed in part because of the many outside voices encircling her. “This process helped me learn that she is much more than the other characters think she is. She is not crazy, she’s honest, and that honesty makes her powerful and dangerous to the men in power and the status quo. More than just that, she is incredibly tender,” Bibuld said.
Another compelling aspect is the conversations between different characters. Whether with the non-women classmates, “educators” or romantic partners, they add layers to the discourse of the turbulent time. Characters ask what it means to be a true ally; some get credit for doing the bare minimum, while others are accused of being ludicrous.
The play portrays the endless quest women take to find and trust their voices. “I hope [Shelby] teaches the audience that there is a difference between being fearless and being brave. You don’t have to be fearless to speak out and defy the status quo. You just have to be ready for whatever comes in the fallout. She certainly taught me that it is better to be brave than fearless,” Bibuld said. “… I hope she teaches people that you don’t need anyone else to validate your truth for your story to be true.”
Audience members rose to applaud actors as they bowed. “It is my hope that audiences walk away having been moved in some capacity: moved to call their best friend, moved to hear someone differently, moved to go see more theatre. Any of it. To be moved is to open oneself to learning and healing,” Boatwright said.
“John Proctor Is The Villain” asks many questions and provides no easy answer. This reflects the current political landscape: there is no simple way to confront power. After the show, participants spoke about how this play set in 2018 – not to mention Miller’s 1953 play – is still relevant today. It will continue to be so long as inequities persist.
“This play is bubbling up all the time,” Keohane said. The play and its talented players ask us what we shall do. Given everything, how will we proceed?
Medha Mankekar can be reached at [email protected].
