Proctor-ing Recent History

Both the #MeToo movement and The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s allegory about the Salem Witch Trials to examine the McCarthy-Era Red Scare of his time,inspired playwright Kimberly Belflower to come up with John Proctor Is the Villain. 

“What would it be like to be a teenager in rural America at that moment, feeling the world shift underneath your feet while you’re still figuring out the person you want to be, in a place that’s steeped in tradition, in a culture that tries to make teenage girls feel as powerless as possible?” Belflower – who was raised in a rural area of Georgia – told Broadway Licensing when the company acquired the play for school distribution, “How might those young women redefine their lives in real time? The things they’re taught? The books they read? The heroes they worship?”

For Belflower, who workshopped John Proctor Is the Villain at the Ojai Playwrights Conference in 2019, Proctor engendered a sharp focus on her own experiences through historical lenses. “This is my heart and guts in a single play,” she said. 

The play is set at a rural high school in Georgia, where a group of lively teens are studying The Crucible, comparing current events and contemporary experiences with Salem in the 1600s while simultaneously navigating typical teenage troubles of angsty young love, friendships, and other relationships. Then a school sex scandal shocks them into having to examine power dynamics in their own barely coming-of-age worlds. 

“There are all these parallel things happening in their community, accusations that are flying, and the phrase ‘witch hunt’ tossed around and almost mass hysteria, but in a context,” explained Sara Rademacher, who is directing Proctor’s Santa Barbara debut ina student showcase production at SBCC, November 8-18. “There was a lack of agency that the women had back at the Salem Witch Trials, when who knew what was a lie and what was truth. I think that’s really relatable still right now. These kids are 16-18 years old, just trying to figure out who they are, their principles, and what they care about. We’re watching them figuring that out in real time.”

Belflower’s gift for language and her commitment to a contemporary approach makes the play come off as extra authentic and helps the audience to make the through-line connection from Salem to McCarthy to Harvey Weinstein, Rademacher said. 

“It feels super realistic. All of the characters, the way that they talk, even in the syntax, is very real. That makes it relatable and we’re able to see how our culture right now is connected to fear events through history. It forces us to question our own stances.” 

Directing a cast of actors who are only a couple of years older than their characters provides even more perspective, she said. 

“It’s young voices telling young stories. This is a really important moment for us to listen to young people and the play gives us the opportunity to actually hear from them.”

Visit www.theatregroupsbcc.com for more information and tickets.