Set in a rural high school in Georgia in the wake of the 2018 #METOO Movement, the story of “John Proctor is the Villain” follows a group of girls studying the Crucible while also navigating issues in their town. The show’s producer Katie Hahn read the manuscript for the first time in 2019 during her directing fellowship in Florida, “I loved that it was lifting up the girls and the women in the show and that it was so relevant. It was so fresh and asked a lot of really hard questions.”
Hahn says she wanted to do a reading of the play in the theater where she was doing her fellowship, but COVID-19 stopped that and other big productions from happening. It’s slowly been making its way back to the stage. Hahn says it’s been getting more attention recently and seems to resonate with college students, “They’re looking at the Crucible through a contemporary lens and questioning: Is the way that we’ve always thought about the story and the people that we hold up– the men in the story that we hold up as heroes, are they actually heroes or do we need to be questioning a little bit more about their actions?”
Director, Alisha Taylor says she had never heard of the show until Hahn introduced it to her. She says she was amazed by the contemporary elements of Kimberly Bellflower’s script, “It’s just such a fresh take on conversations that have been had before. So that went into our decision of bringing it here just bringing something new to the community, a new playwright, a new show.” Taylor says the local cast has been eager to dive into the script, “I always say like they have their homework done. They’re coming in with questions about like their characters, the choices that their characters make. So it really creates a space where artistry gets to thrive because everyone has like bought into this idea and vision.”
Actress Layla Rorem, who plays the character Raelynn Nix, says Bellflower is one of her favorite playwrights and she finds the writing to be very real and a love letter to girlhood, "It’s about navigating friendships and your identity and who you are and what you believe and how to support others. And I think ultimately it’s a message of hope and that your voice does matter even if you haven’t found it yet.” Rorem says she thinks the audience will leave feeling uplifted and she hopes they will learn just as much as she has while being a part of the show, “You as you have so much to say. And I think all of these characters get a moment where they at first don’t realize that they do and then once they realize, they get a moment to say it. And reading the script for the first time gave me a moment to realize that I have so much to say and what do I want to say and what are those venues to discover that. So I hope that’s a discovery that happens for the audience as well.”
The play is recommended for mature audiences and the Paramount has published a content advisory. Producer Katie Hahn encourages people to enjoy the comedy and entertainment, but to also come prepared to think about the hard topics the show presents, “I think you’re going to walk away asking questions but also feeling empowered to do something about how we live in this world.”
Abilene Audiences can see John Proctor is the Villain at the Paramount through Sunday. More information on the content advisory and show times is available on Paramount Abilene's website.