GORHAM, ME — The USM Department of Theatre launches its 2024-2025 mainstage season with Kimberly Belflower’s bitingly funny and moving John Proctor is the Villain from November 6th to 10th at Russell Hall on the USM Gorham Campus.

At a rural high school in Georgia, a group of lively teens are studying The Crucible while navigating relationships, sex ed, and a few scandals. Holding a contemporary lens to the American classic, they begin to question who is really the hero and what is the truth, discovering their own power in the process. Alternately touching and bitingly funny, this drama captures a generation in mid-transformation, fueled by pop music, running alternately on optimism and rage, writing their own coming of age story.

For director and USM Theatre Department Chair, this show couldn’t be more timely, “Kimberly Belflower has managed to use this iconic work of The Crucible to set the stage for the problems we continue to address in our culture around the dynamics of power and gender.” She says that Belflower is a new voice for a new age, and has deftly “tackled difficult material via use of another American play that is problematically held up as an iconic American work (The Crucible).

USM Theatre students have had to tackle the show’s difficult topics head-on, but the process has been a rewarding one. Valentine says, “This play presents big issues that our student performers have had to grapple with as they portray characters in this play, including topics such as abusive relationships, consent, sex, power. But there is also a lot of hope in this show. It is a drama, but it is not a tragedy. Difficult subject matter can have moments of levity, and at the end of the day, this is a play about community and uplifting.”

To encourage community conversation around the show’s themes, the USM Department of Theatre will be hosting a talkback with Speak About It, a consent education and sexual assault prevention non-profit based in Maine, following the Thursday, November 7th, performance. All are welcome.

John Proctor is the Villain runs November 6th-10th at Russell Hall on the USM Gorham campus.

Content Advisory:

John Proctor is the Villain explores difficult themes including a brief depiction of forced physical contact and discussions of sexual exploitation. It is recommended for high school students and older. If you have questions about the content of the show, please contact us at usmtheatreboxoffice@maine.edu.

Performances:

Thursday, November 7 – 7pm (Featuring a talkback with Speak About It)

Friday, November 8 – 7pm

Saturday, November 9 – 7pm

Sunday, November 10 – 2pm

Ticket Information

Ticket prices: $8-$18

Special pricing for schools and community groups

Pay-What-You-Can: Thursday, November 7th, 7pm

For more info and to purchase tickets, visit USM Theatre at https://usm.maine.edu/department-theatre/box-office-tickets/ or call the USM Theatre Box Office at (207) 780-5151.

To bring a school or community group, contact Audiences Services & Outreach Coordinator, Janice Gardner at janice.gardner@maine.edu. 

Those needing special accommodations to participate fully in this program, contact Janice Gardner at (207)780-5289 or janice.gardner@maine.edu. Hearing impaired: call USM’s telex/TDD number (207)780-5646

Cast of John Proctor is the Villain in a recent rehearsal. Photo by Kat Moraros Photography