Content warning: This article contains content regarding sexual assault and grooming.
Albion College’s production of “John Proctor is the Villain” captured the turning point in a young person’s life when they learn that the people you thought were good aren’t always good; that the people who are supposed to protect you have the most power to hurt you.
Running from Sept. 19-28, the impactful story paired with evocative performances by the actors made for an excellent show that will stay with me for a long time.
“John Proctor is the Villain,” written by Kimberly Bellflower, follows a high school English class and their reading of “The Crucible.” The class is taught by the well-liked Mr. Smith. His students include Beth, the academic powerhouse, Shelby, the mysterious girl who just got back from a “sabbatical” and their friends Raelynn, Ivy and Nell.
Early on, Ivy’s dad is accused of sexually assaulting his secretary. Later, Shelby reveals that Mr. Smith had an inappropriate sexual relationship with her.
The play takes place in 2018, against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement, and explores themes of sexual assault, betrayal of trust and abuse of power.
A Relevant Story and Compelling Script
The title of the play references “The Crucible,” and its protagonist John Proctor. “The Crucible” ends with Proctor dying nobly after refusing to confess to something he didn’t do. Oh, and he also had an affair with a teenager.
In “John Proctor is the Villain,” Mr. Smith follows the typical teaching of “The Crucible,” praising Proctor as the hero. As the play progresses, it becomes clear that Mr. Smith is a reflection of Proctor. Both are married, Christian men who are pillars of their community. Nobody has a bad thing to say about either one of them – except for the teenage girls they’ve taken advantage of.
“The Crucible” is also relevant in “John Proctor is the Villain” as a tool for Smith’s students to come to their own conclusions about power dynamics, manipulation and sexual assault.
“John Proctor is the Villain” is perhaps the most deftly told story I’ve encountered about the harm and manipulation teenage girls have to deal with. The characters are grappling with betrayal and abuse from multiple people in their lives, which I think is realistic. People want to believe that there are only a few “bad apples” in the whole world – and surely none of them are in their community – but that’s just not true.
I’d encountered a handful of abusive men by the time I was 16, and it meant a lot to me to see my experiences reflected in those of the characters in the play.
Along with Mr. Smith and Ivy’s dad, there’s also Lee, Raelynn’s longtime boyfriend who’s very forceful with her in an early scene. Mr. Smith is the main antagonist, but characters like Lee make it clear that the problem is not just one man.
Just as the play doesn’t center on one abuser, it doesn’t center on just one victim or survivor. Shelby’s experience and trauma are a major plot point, but it eventually becomes clear that Mr. Smith is grooming Beth as well. This illustrates that abuse is common, and abusers often hurt more than one person.
The play also explores how people are indirectly affected by abuse and by knowing abusers.
Though many of the characters aren’t victims themselves, they’re still impacted by what’s happening around them, especially in such a small rural community. This is especially true considering most of the characters are teenagers; they’re learning about what the world is like and how they fit into it, and learning that an adult they trusted hurt one of their peers could have a big influence on their worldview.
Stand-out Performances of Student Actors
All of the actors did such a good job in this play; the content is difficult and the characters are multifaceted, requiring a close analysis and reflection of the text to portray their feelings accurately. In my eyes, everyone did that expertly.
Mr. Smith was played by Marysville sophomore Brady Zalac, who embodied the role so well that I had visceral reactions to the character.
Mr. Smith is beloved by both his students and the community as a whole, and Zalac radiated charisma throughout the first act. Mr. Smith is “the cool teacher,” and Zalac nailed that energy, from Mr. Smith’s nonchalant mannerisms to the friendly way he talked to his students. Learning that Mr. Smith abused his position of authority hits hard because we saw such a likable character up to that point.
Zalac goes from playing a charming teacher to a bad person desperately trying to preserve his reputation, and he does both very realistically.
I also want to highlight the performance of Hamilton senior Hannah Fathman as Shelby. From the first time Shelby and Mr. Smith are in a scene together, it’s clear that there’s tension. There are no harsh words spoken, but Shelby stares at Mr. Smith so contemptuously that it’s obvious something is wrong between the two.
Fathman portrays Shelby’s simmering anger very well, and it eventually boils over into a captivating monologue where Shelby reveals her and Mr. Smith’s previous relationship.
Another impressive performance came from Dallas junior Alaecia Simmons, who brought the character of Beth to life. Beth’s enthusiasm, fast-paced way of speaking and mannerisms are all important parts of understanding the character, and Simmons did all of it so well.
One thing I especially appreciated about her performance is how differently Beth acts when Mr. Smith is in the room versus when he’s not. She seems to make herself smaller and more palatable to fit his perception of her. Although it’s not verbally referenced until later on in the play, it was clear to me from the beginning that Mr. Smith was grooming Beth, all thanks to Simmons’ performance.
Hearing From the Stars
In a talkback after the performance on Thursday, actors answered questions from the audience. When asked about playing the antagonist, Zalac said coming in and out of the character of Mr. Smith was “weird as hell.”
“Something that’s really helped me is having these glasses as sort of like a mask. They go on, I snap into character, and then I walk through the door,” Zalac said. “It’s very much this on-and-off switch that I try to do to keep myself separate from this horrible human being.”
Fathman added that Director Meghan VanArsdalen introduced the concept of “nutrient lists” to the theater – personalized lists for each cast member of things to do to take care of themselves and to help them “de-role,” or leave their character behind when they leave rehearsal.
According to Fathman, each cast member had their own nutrient list, which might include things like listening to music, talking to their friends and having certain clothes that they associated with their character and didn’t wear outside of the theater.
“I know for me personally, it was really hard to separate Shelby’s feelings from reality,” Fathman said, adding that having the nutrient list helped them.
VanArsdalen had the cast do many exercises and activities to help them process their feelings and take care of themselves while acting out such difficult content. She guided them in journaling about their own feelings and their character’s feelings, and identifying which is which.
Fathman said that VanArdsalen also facilitated a “re-introduction” between Fathman and Zalac as themselves, not their characters.
“That separation and reconnection with your peers is super important,” Fathman said.
Phoenix senior Alaya Swoope, who played Raelynn, talked about the catharsis of dancing in the final scene of the play, and how she uses her emotions from the course of the show to energize herself and the audience.
“Every night it’s like a build-up, we’re actively listening to what everyone is saying, so that rage comes naturally because it’s so ridiculous that we have to live through that and experience that,” Swoope said.
Swoope added that the cast had a mantra backstage: “Be too much, take up space.”
A Show to Remember
If you couldn’t tell, this show meant a lot to me. In 2018, when “John Proctor is the Villain” took place, I was 13, reading “#MeToo” scrawled on the stalls of my middle school bathroom. The things that men do to teenage girls are nauseating, and I’m grateful to this play for shedding light on that.
I can’t stress enough how the actors, and the crew, made this show so incredible. They really did justice to the script and the material; it was clear that everyone involved took their part very seriously.
I’ve seen all but one of the plays that Albion has put on in my time here. I don’t say this lightly, as I love zombies and gay people, but “John Proctor is the Villain” has been my favorite play so far.
And I, for one, cannot wait to see what they do next.
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