JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN - Full Program

HOPE COLLEGE THEATRE presents

John Proctor is the Villain

by Kimberly Belflower

DeWitt Studio Theatre

February 23, 24, 29, March 1, 2 | 7:30 p.m.

February 25, March 2, 3 | 2:00 p.m.

Direction by Rhett Luedtke

Scenic & Properties Design by Keith Pitts

Costume Design by Michelle Bombe

Lighting Design by Natalie Stringham*

Lighting Design Mentorship by Eric Van Tassell

Sound Design by Ken Chamberlain

Technical Direction & Properties Management by Stephen Krebs

Costume Shop Management by Anna Hill

Production Management by Erik Alberg

Stage Management by Ava Bell*

*Indicates Hope College Student

Special Thanks

Hope College’s Physical Plant

throughout academia, we have learned that being in a position of power over the lives of young people comes with a very sacred bond of trust. I have great faith in a new generation of young people that are not afraid to call out those in power who behave badly. I am proud of our students who have tackled this play with respect and vulnerability. I am also grateful for my faculty and staff collaborators who embraced my encouragement to produce this play. Special thanks to Rhett Luedtke, who has approached this work with humility and grace and has imparted such good care and craft to our students.

To my Hope community, thank you for joining us and allowing us to share this story with you. Art gives us language for difficult subjects that we don’t know how to talk about. I hope our work opens up dialogue in your circles. Most of all, I hope you leave the theatre with the empowerment and strength of the young women of the future that Belflower leaves us with at the end of the play.

Michelle Bombe Chair, Hope College Theatre Department

Hope College Department of Theatre Mission Statement

Hope College Department of Theatre offers an academic theatre program of recognized excellence which cultivates students as practicing entrepreneurial theatre artists. Our program fosters students to become citizen artists who understand the transformative power of theatre. Students will use theatre as a tool to develop creativity, learn empathy, and gain an understanding of the diversity and complexity of our human experience. The department is committed to challenging our students, practitioners and audiences to promote a more informed and inclusive world.

Note from the Chair

Spoiler alert: This note contains information that could spoil your experience of viewing the play and we suggest you read it after experiencing the play.

“he’s just pretending like… his fiction is more important than her fact?”

Kimberly Belflower

John Proctor is the Villain

If you haven’t read Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, for a while, it might be a good time to reexamine the 1953 play that was written at a time when “witch hunts” were playing out daily under the McCarthy era. While this modern-day allegory was indeed powerful, I had always been perplexed by the narrative that John Proctor was somehow the hero of the play and that Abigail, who was a child, was branded the villain of the story.

Sometime in 2019, talk was circulating in my theatre circles about a new play titled John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower. I was intrigued. I had to read this play. I tracked down the then unpublished script from a friend who had produced the play at her college and on first read, I knew that this was a play for Hope Theatre. I often use the tag line for our department, “theatre that makes a difference.” I wanted our students to have the opportunity to grapple with this subject matter and feel how empowering it is to change the narrative.

I can hardly talk about the subject matter of this play without becoming emotional. For many of us, the events portrayed in John Proctor is the Villain played out with our friends, our sisters, our coworkers, and, in many cases, ourselves. While significant harm occurred to many young women, the collateral damage was also widespread. I palpably remember the mix of confusion of shock and anger when I learned of abuse that had occurred in my undergraduate department with a professor. How could the person that I revered, trusted, and admired also be a perpetrator of sexual manipulation and harm to my best friend, 20+ years his junior? I am not sure I have ever reconciled the complexity of those emotions, which I realize pale in comparison to the scars my friend has spent years to heal.

What have we learned in a post #MeToo world? I hope in education and

Cast

BETH.....................................................................................Elliana Johnson

NELL........................................................................................Ruby Hlathein

IVY.......................................................................................Jacqueline Schatz

RAELYNN...............................................................................Nadia Cuthrell

SHELBY........................................................................................Sofia Wake

MISS GALLAGHER................................................................Meg Voetberg

MR. SMITH......................................................................Kolton Muldowney

MASON.........................................................................Christopher Laubach

LEE...............................................................................................Kyle Spiegel

This performance runs approximately 120 minutes without an intermission.

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.

Student Groups and Campus Resources

Students Teaching Empowering Peers (STEP)

Women’s Empowerment Organization (WEO)

Women of Color United (WOCU)

Off Campus: Resilence, a local nonprofit who provides supportive services to survivors of sexual violence. Their 24-hour Support Line is 1-800-848-5991 & 616-392-1970.

Land Acknowledgement

Together we, the Hope College Theatre Department, acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the Ottawa (Odawa), Chippewa (Ojibwa or Anishinaabe), and Potowatami (Nishnabek) Peoples, past and present. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. As a community, we recognize the ever-present systemic inequities that stem directly from past wrongdoings. We acknowledge this long history of injustice and commit to educating ourselves and our community as we seek to honor the legacy and culture of Indigenous Peoples.

Production Staff

Assistant Stage Managers............................................Evelyn Lapadat, Isabelle Seiler

Stage Management Supervisor...........................................................Reagan Chesnut

Scenery Technicians..............................................................Sam Blank, Sam Buck, Abby Christians, Jack Cuncannan, Carlina Franzon, Ada Garduno, Sean Jones, Lydia Konings, Hannah Newman, Wesley Stewart, Naomi Whitefield

Properties Assistants...........................................................Faith Huff, Kaelis North

Head Electrician..............................................................................Ken Chamberlain

Light and Sound Board Operator......................................................Kaylee Siddens

QLab Programmer............................................................................Schuyler Waters

Lighting and Sound Staff..............................................Eric Alsgaard, Ava Bell, Isaak Boes, Eden Comer, Nadia Cuthrell, Mackenzie Halton, Bridget Kenny, Lucas Khemache, Lydia Konings, Mary Kretschmar, Danai Mandebvu, Kaelis North, Kaylee Siddens, Natalie Stringham, Rey Tello, Deborah Van Iwaarden, Schuyler Waters, Olivia Weg

Wardrobe Staff..................................................Jacqui D’Lamater, Alegría Guzmán

Costume Shop Staff.................................................Freddie Baker, Cherokee Bauer, Jacquelin D’Lamater, Lili Fraser-Shade, Alegria Guzman, Bethany Lawrence, Katelyn Lawrence, Madison Richardson, Miranda Stepchuk, Natalie Stringham

Ticket Office Manager.........................................................................Michael Howes

Ticket Office Staff................................Riley Berlin, Kate Kalthoff, Marisol Lopez, Lottie-Brooke Mims, Jacob Roman, Madison Slattery

House Management Staff.......................................................................Lydia Konings

Office Manager.........................................................................................Caitlin Bales

Office Assistants...................................Lydia Konings, Audrey Kunce, Ellie Theune

Lobby Dramaturgical Boards............................................Ingrid Baker, Eden Comer

Publicity Staff...........................................Ava Bell, Eden Comer, Alegría Guzmán, Ka’niya Houston, Claudia Hwang, Lydia Konings, Audrey Kunce, Danai Mandebvu, Sophie Reay, Jacqueline Shatz

Poster Design...........................................Paul Willard, Public Affairs and Marketing

The Hope College Theatre Department Faculty

Accredited Institutional Member of N.A.S.T. (National Association of Schools of Theatre)

Michelle Bombe, Chair

Rhett Luedtke, Director of Theatre

Bianca Ciungan

Perry Landes, emeritus

Daina Robins, emeritus

Richard L. Smith, emeritus

John Tammi, emeritus

Eric Van Tassell

Staff

Erik Alberg, Director of Design & Production for the Performing Arts

Caitlin Bales, Office Manager

Ken Chamberlain, Assistant Director of Production for Dance and Theatre

Anna Hill, Costume Shop Manager

Stephen Krebs, Technical Director

Theatre Majors Theatre Minors

Ingrid Baker

Cherokee Bauer

Ava Bell

Cecilia Casper

Genesis Clark

Nadia Cuthrell

Abigail Doonan

Alegría Guzmán

Lydia Konings

Audrey Kunce

Gabriel LaForce

Kate Lawrence

Danai Mandebvu

Canyon Mannikko

Renee Marting

Grant McKenzie

Rachel Scott

Isabelle Seiler

Anne Slezak

Natalie Stringham

Adeline Thalhammer

Ellie Theune

Bri Tomczak

Sara Verduzco

Deborah VanIwaarden

Sofia Wake

Schuyler Waters

Sarah White

Naomi Whitfield

Jesalyn Ashby

Samuel Blank

Eden Comer

Ella Harris

Claudia Hwang

Elliana Johnson

Jaden Johnson

Anya Kapitula

Rachel Kuiper

Christopher Laubach

Emily Mann

Kolton Muldowney

Sophie Reay

Jacqueline Schatz

Jack Slevin

Mackenzie Wysocki

Recipients of Life-Time Passes

Paul and Sarah Anderson

Priscilla Atkins

Jean and David Bahle

Jim and Donna Brooks

Dr. Jim and Martie Bultman

David Colacci and Susan Ericksen

Marlies DeWitt

Mrs. Richard A. DeWitt

Ken and Lorma Freestone

Perry and Pam Landes

Glenn and Jane Lowe

Dr. Jack and Leona Nyenhuis

Bill and Maura Reynolds

Louis and Deb Schakel

Mary Schakel

Mrs. Lois Schreur

Richard Smith and Navjotika Kumar

John and Marilynn Tammi

Pat Williams