John Proctor Is the Villain Accents

John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower seems to be everywhere this year. After a successful Broadway run and a recently-announced West End transfer from the Royal Court in London, regional theatres are catching on to this exciting new piece of theatre and adding it to their upcoming seasons left and right. Which means lots of upcoming auditions for young, female-identifying actors across the US and beyond.

If you’re an actor auditioning for an upcoming production, you’ll want to nail not only the character but the rural Georgia accent baked into Belflower’s world. So let’s dive into the world of the play, the characters, and the unique characteristics of the Georgia accent.

About the Play

Set in a small town in rural Georgia at the height of the Me Too movement in 2018, John Proctor is the Villain follows a group of high school juniors– straight-A student Beth, the straight-A and type-a student who starts a “feminist club” after school; Nell, the new transfer from Atlanta; Ivy, who’s wealthy father becomes the center of a sexual harassment scandal; Raelynn, the pastor's daughter who’s questioning her sexuality after her boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend Shelby; Mason, the slightly awkward teenage boy who joins the feminist club; and Raelynn's boyfriend Lee, who is desperately trying to win her back. 

The kids are studying Arthur Miller's The Crucible in beloved Mr. Carter’s English class when Raelynn’s estranged friend Shelby returns to class after a prolonged absence. As the students begin questioning the play's portrayal of John Proctor as a heroic figure, they also start confronting issues of sexism, power, consent, and the stories they've been taught to believe about the men in their own community. Kimberly Belflower's play explores female friendship, teenage rebellion, and what happens when young women begin questioning the narratives they've inherited.

Rural Georgia, you say?

Yes, John Proctor Is the Villain takes place in the classroom of a high school in a small Georgia town. “But the play is set in 2018”, you may say. Does that mean you need to take on the southern drawl characters like Scarlett O’Hara or Frank Underwood? Or would these girls simply use a contemporary General American accent? The answer is somewhere in between. 

Regional dialects across the United States have softened over the years as people have become more connected beyond their communities and exposed to a more Generican accent through TV, films, and the internet. It was in isolation from other communities that the accents of the South developed in the first place, and in that isolation they held strong for many years. Read more about the history of Southern Accents. Now that younger generations are more exposed to a wider range of voices and dialects, those dialectical distinctions are becoming less distinct by region.

Georgia Accent Characteristics

Before we get into the specific characters of John Proctor is the Villain, let’s look at some of the key sounds that make a Georgia accent unique.

• Slower, drawn-out rhythm. Georgia speakers often have a relaxed, unhurried cadence that gives it a “drawl” feel, especially in more rural communities. You may even think of the heat of the region as an influence on the speech.

• Vowel shifts. Vowels may sound stretched or shifted, especially in words like “time,” “ride,” or “right”, which might sound more like “tahm”, “rahd”, or “raht”. Other vowels may be stretched so much they become two vowels in words such as “dress” and “match” becoming “drayess” or “mayatch” - but only mildly. This is a rather subtler shift.

• Softened consonants. Final consonants can sound lighter or less sharply pronounced than in more neutral American speech. Words like “plenty” may sound more like “plenny”. -ing endings of words may also “drop the G,” so “swimming” would become “swimmin” for example.

• Southern vocabulary and phrasing. You may hear words like “y’all,” along with other familiar Southern expressions, if you’re fixin’ to work on this accent.

• Dropped R’s. Some southern accents are rhotic and others are not. The classic Georgia accent is of the non-rhotic variety, though you hear this less and less in modern day white speakers. It’s still very present for many African-Americans.

Character Specifics

While all of the characters in John Proctor is the Villain are from Georgia, they don't all have to sound exactly the same. One of the great joys of Kimberly Belflower's writing is that the girls are all distinct individuals, and their speech patterns can help illuminate class, family background, and social standing. In general, the teenagers of the show are more likely to pronounce their r’s and have slightly softened accents, while the two adult characters (though both are still quite young) might have a bit heavier accents to distinguish that age gap.

Shelby Holcomb

Shelby has spent time away from town with her aunt in Atlanta and returns with a slightly broader worldview than some of her classmates. The Georgia influences are probably still there—particularly in rhythm and vocabulary—but she may have unconsciously softened some of her regional features.

Raelynn Nix

Raelynn is perhaps the character most likely to have a stronger Southern sound. She comes from a working-class background and seems deeply rooted in her community through her pastor father and connection to the church. A fuller drawl, longer vowels, and more pronounced Southern intonation may suit her, though probably not too extreme given she’s from a younger generation.

Ivy Watkins

Ivy is academically driven and eager to leave her small town behind. Many young people who aspire to college or professional careers soften their regional accents, even if they don't realize they're doing it, and this is something an actor could play with here. At the same time, Ivy is quite sheltered and leads a privileged life, so her accent could be more pronounced. There are definitely different options to experiment with here!

Nell Shaw

Nell is the Atlanta transplant, so her speech might stand out the most from the rest of the characters. Her accent may sit closer to a Generican accent with southern twinges like a pin/pen merge or wider vowels. She’s also African American, so there could be influences of AAVE (African American Vernacular), which is widely heard across Georgia and Atlanta specifically.

Beth Powell

Beth can sit comfortably in the middle of the spectrum. Her accent should still feel rooted in rural Georgia through her cadence, vowel choices, and occasional regional turns of phrase, but probably would sound quite similar to Ivy and possibly Raelynn. 

Mason Adams & Lee Turner

Although the play focuses on the girls, don't forget Mason and Lee. Young men in rural Southern communities sometimes retain stronger regional features than their female peers, particularly if they haven't left their hometown often. Depending on the production, both characters may carry a slightly more noticeable accent than some of the girls.

Carter Smith and Miss Gallagher

Mr. Smith and Miss Gallagher are the two adults of the play, though Miss Gallagher is only in her mid twenties and Carter is about 30. To differentiate these characters from the teens, the actors might lean into the Georgia accent a bit more. Carter may even have some non-rhotic traces in his speech. There is a charm to the Georgia accent’s cadence that would suit him well, given how beloved he is by his students and community. Miss Gallagher’s speech could fall somewhere between Carter’s and the students’.

Final Thoughts for Actors

The accents in John Proctor is the Villain should support the storytelling, not detract from it. These girls are funny, smart, angry, vulnerable, complex, and those complexities can be reflected in the way they speak as much as what they actually say. 

Remember, if the audience notices the accent before they notice the character, you're probably doing too much. Don’t be afraid to play with extreme sound when first learning a Georgia accent (or any accent), but then think of it as a spectrum, ranging from extreme caricature to nearly indetectible. The characters in this play will fall somewhere in the middle – the fun for an actor is exploring where that may be!