John Proctor is the Villain

The Arts at CCBC presents
John Proctor is the Villain
by Kimberly Belflower
Directed by Sierra Young

CCBC Catonsville, Center for the Arts, Theatre

Production Team

Stage Manager Caelyn Ricks	Lighting/Scenic Design Technical Director G. Maurice "Moe" Conn	Sound Designer Sierra Young
Costume Design Jess Rassp	Intimacy/Violence Coordinator Mallory Shear	Production Coordinator Damon Krometis

CONTENT WARNING: This play contains racist/sexist microaggressions, depictions of grooming and abusive relationship dynamics, discussion of sexual assault, and exploitation. The depictions in this production are in no way a reflection of the actors telling the story. The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. ASL interpretation provided by CIRS/HASA John Proctor is the Villain is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com).

Director's Note

In 2017, as Kimberly Belflower finished grad school and returned to her family’s farm in Northern Georgia, an area steeped in Southern traditions and religious values— three fixations collided. She had recently read Stacy Schiff’s The Witches, a historical account of the infamous Salem witch trials, mere weeks before journalists broke sexual harassment and abuse allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. The reporting triggered national reckoning with gender, power, and toxic workplace cultures. As more women publicly shared traumatic experiences– and more prominent men faced consequences for decades of malevolence— critics denounced the #MeToo movement as a “witch hunt.”

That invocation led Belflower to revisit Arthur Miller’s The Crucible for the first time since high school. She was shocked how her reading experience of the play had changed as an adult to see apparent gender and power dynamics elucidated in Miller’s work: “I was taught, and almost every single person I know is taught, that John Proctor is the beacon of goodness and the girls are hysterical. And rereading it, I found myself saying out loud, “John Proctor is the villain.”

Belflower’s newfound perspective on The Crucible and the Salem witch trials emphasized how the sexual power dynamics in #MeToo headlines have a centuries long legacy— Asking how do these values live on? How do they get passed from one generation to the next? How does the diaspora of culture still hold on to these ideals and practices? She zeroed in on the rollercoaster of teenage girlhood as the flash point. “I was thinking about what it is to come of age in a rural place, what it is to come of age in the church and to be given a series of rules for your life and expectations for what things are supposed to look like. Just thinking about the way that we’re taught canonical literature as one of those systems of power— who gets to be in the canon and who doesn’t.” Belflower knew that the conversation around curriculum was more than an intellectual debate; it was emblematic of greater cultural forces: Whose stories are celebrated? Who decides? And at what cost?

John Proctor Is The Villain dives into the intricate textures of friendships, pop culture as a tool of both celebration and escapism, how the internet and ‘age of information’ fits into our social climate, and the critical interrogation and reframing of classical works to center female protagonists and their desires. Teenage girls are often dismissed as dramatic, hormonal, hysterical even— but Belflower’s work is ferocious coming of age story, where young women’s emotions, obsessions, and formidable resilience are not only taken seriously, but celebrated for the messy journeys it takes it find them. I hope after seeing this play that we can continue to think critically about ourselves and to critique the systems and structures of oppression that linger around us— knowing there is always more work to be done.

As it’s stated in the play, “...it’s a really intense time, but that’s what literature is for— that’s what art is for— to make sense of moments like this one.”

Sierra Young
Director

Cast

Kayla Lasson

Shelby Holcomb

Aidyn Mingo

Beth Powell

Amira Burman

Nell Shaw

Mel Francis

Ivy Watkins

Emma Fuller

Raelynn Nix

Jordan Caesar-Scott

Mason Adams

Aaron Partin

Lee Turner

Damon Krometis

Carter Smith

Jen Rabbitt Ring

Bailey Gallagher

Jochebed Gwamna

Aysha

Malcolm Kilby

Forrest

Creative Team

Sierra Young

Director/Sound Designer

Samuel Koch

Assistant Director

Caelyn Ricks

Stage Manager

Julia Greenberg

Assistant Stage Manager

Jess Rassp

Costume Designer

G. Maurice (Moe) Conn

Technical Director/Scenic, Lighting Designer

Mallory Shear

Intimacy/Violence Coordinator

Myles Rigsby

Light Board Operator

Amanda Sergent

Sound Operator

Alex Bosworth, Aaron Duenas, Julia Greenberg, Nathaniel Key, Samuel Koch

Stage Crew

Alex Bosworth, Nathanial Key, Sam Koch, Aaron Parton, Sammy Jungwirth

Scene Shop Staff

Maddie Baynard, Darian Grade, Shakiara Saunders

Costume Shop Student Assistants

Shaelyn Jae

Production Photographer

Meet the Company

Kayla Lasson

Shelby Holcomb

Kayla (she/her) is former CCBC student and currently majors in Theatre Studies and minors in LGBTQ Studies at Towson University. She has previously appeared in Small Mouth Sounds, and done theatre through a performing arts camp from when she was younger. She is a barista and dog sitter in her free time.

Aidyn Mingo

Beth Powell

Aidyn (they/them) returns to the CCBC Catonsville stage after starring as in Little Shop of Horrors and Goya: en la quinta del sordo. They have appeared in Hairspray at the Moonlight Players Theatre in Clermont, FL, and multiple performances with Capoli’s Cannolis in Clement, FL. They are a dual enrollment student at CCBC and plan to major in Psychology after graduating high school.

Amira Burman

Nell Shaw

Amira (she/her) has been acting since a young age, beginning as the frog in a kindergarten play and growing from there. She attended the Theater Magnet at Lansdowne High School, then continue theatre at Woodlawn High School. She previously appeared in CCBC’s production of Barbecue. She appeared in the Baltimore Sun in the second grade, when she performed a monologue as the opera singer Marian Anderson.

Mel Francis

Ivy Watkins

Mel (they/them) returns to CCBC, where they previously appeared in The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong as Jonathan/Charles and as an ensemble member in Goya: en la quinta del sordo. Mel has also spent time playing a pirate and working in New Mexico. They hope to transfer this fall and continue studying Theatre.

Emma Fuller

Raelynn Nix

Emma (she/her) is appearing in her first play at CCBC. She is a Digital Media major, and has taken Acting for the Camera. She will soon graduate and is looking to transfer to Towson this fall.

Jordan Caesar-Scott

Mason Adams

Jordan (he/him) is a General Studies major at CCBC and starred as Golden Thunder in Airness and understudied for The One-Act Play that Goes Wrong this past fall. He plans to transfer to Morehouse once he finishes here.

Aaron Partin

Lee Turner

Aaron (he/him) is a second year and is performing in his fourth show here at CCBC. He has previously been on the Catonsville stage in the past productions of We Are Proud To Present . . . and Goya: en la quinta del sordo. He was also over at the Essex stage this past fall in the musical production of Little Shop of Horrors. He plans to look beyond the CCBC stage to further his career in the near future.

Damon Krometis

Carter Smith

Damon (he/him) is the Theatre Coordinator at CCBC Catonsville. Normally, you would see him direct plays such as The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong, We Are Proud to Present . . ., The Underpants, and Clean Slate. He was last seen on stage as the deadbeat Dad in A New Brain. He’s honored to work with this incredible team on this piece.

Jen Rabbitt Ring

Bailey Gallagher

Jen (she/her) is an actor and designated Linklater Voice teacher. A visiting lecturer in Theatre at CCBC, she also serves on the faculty of the University of Maryland, and as affiliated faculty with Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. She has recently performed with Taffety Punk, Rorshchach Theatre and Theatre 4615 in the DC region and is a former company member of Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken, NJ. MFA: Rutgers University.

Jochebed Gwamna

Aysha

Jochebed (she/her) is in her second production at CCBC after playing Annie in The One-Act Play that Goes Wrong. She has appeared in her high school’s productions of Tartuffe, Huckleberry Finn, Macbeth, and Fools. She also played Mary in Trinity Christian Colleges, showing of a collection of Medieval Plays. She aspires to be an actress on stage and on camera.

Malcolm Kilby

Forrest

Malcolm (he/him) is in his first production here at CCBC. He’s previously acted in Robin Hood, The Easter Story, The Birth of Jesus, and Good King Wenceslas. He wants to pursue a career in acting once he graduates.