The cast of “John Proctor is the Villain” in a recent rehearsal. Photos by Kat Moraros Photography

The University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre will open its mainstage season with the play “John Proctor is the Villain,” showing Nov. 6-10 at the Gorham campus.

In Kimberly Belflower’s bitingly funny and moving play, a group of lively teens at a rural high school in Georgia 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. 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.

Emma Graffam, Lindsey Cirard, Lily Tayler and Sydney Weinberger as Beth, Nell, Raelynn and Ivy in a recent rehearsal of USM Theatre’s production of “John Proctor is the Villain.”

For the director and USM Theatre Department chairperson, 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,” Sara Valentine said in a prepared release. She said 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.”

USM Theatre students have had to tackle the show’s difficult topics head-on, but the process has been a rewarding one.

“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,” Valentine said. “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.”

Lily Tayler and Ellie Backman as Raelynn and Shelby in a recent rehearsal of the play “John Proctor is the Villain.”

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 nonprofit based in Maine, following the Thursday, Nov. 7, performance. All are welcome.

“John Proctor is the Villain” performances at Russell Hall are at 10 a.m. Nov. 6, 7 p.m. Nov. 7-9 and 2 p.m. Nov. 10. Tickets are $8-$18, with special pricing for schools and community groups. The Thursday show is pay-what-you-can. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit USM Theatre at usm.maine.edu/department-theatre/box-office-tickets/ or call the USM Theatre Box Office at 780-5151.

To bring a school or community group, contact Audiences Services and Outreach Coordinator Janice Gardner at janice.gardner@maine.edu or 780-5289.

Those needing special accommodations to participate fully in this program, contact Gardner; hearing impaired, call USM’s telex/TDD number, 780-5646.