By Avery Beaton, Editor
John Proctor is the Villain, written by Kimberly Belflower, is one weekend away from opening
night at USC Upstate.
Set in a rural Georgia in 2018, this play navigates an assortment of characters in a high school English class studying "The Crucible".
The English teacher, Mr. Smith, played by junior theatre performance major Krischan Taylor,
describes him as “similar to Robin Williams in 'Dead Poets Society,' but with a dark secret.
There’s more to it but you’ll have to see the show.”
Aleks Chickonoski, who plays Lee Turner, stated that his character “is commentary on toxic
masculinity and had bad role models.”
Shelby Holcomb, played by sophomore theatre performance major Ariana Gardner, says that
“[Shelby] is forced to grow up too fast, she’s strong but she is still a child.”
Haeli Dragt, a sophomore theatre performance major, plays Raelynn Nix, who she describes as “a girly girl and the pastor’s daughter, she’s been taken advantage of by men because they see her as dumb and innocent. But she’s underestimated and smart and has a lot of emotional intelligence.”
Due to the hurricane, rehearsals for the show were pushed back several weeks. When talking
with Ariana Gardner about how she felt about the delay, she stated, “It made it more of a labor
of love, especially with the content of the show. We really got to take the time with the
characters.”
Haeli Dragt had a similar sentiment, stating “It made me panic at first, I didn’t want
there to be a big break with the content, but the show is so current for right now.”
The play is set to open on Broadway later this spring, which many students were unaware of the fact at the season reveal. Rebecca Dickson, a theatre performance major, stated, “we didn’t know it was going to Broadway when the play was announced, we found out when rehearsals started.”
John Proctor is the Villain is set to open at USC Upstate Thursday, January 30 and run till
Sunday, February 2. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online.