Shelby Holcomb and Raelynn Nix, played by Selah Johnson (‘26) and Sofia Capanna (‘26), set up a desk filled with props before the performance begins. The Drama Queens class suggested the play “John Proctor is the Villain” to 10th grade Dean of Culture, Community and Belonging Tracy Poverstein in December. After returning to school in the new year, they began working with the material.

Sitting at a desk reading “The Crucible,” Olivia Broock (‘27) and Stella Leland (‘26) perform their scene from “John Proctor is the Villain.” Broock played Nell Shaw, a thoughtful and observant student, while Leland portrayed Mason Adams, a student who often misunderstands situations. Broock said the scene highlighted tension and unease within the school community. “There is a lot of discourse and a lot of people are really uncomfortable with what’s happening because they live in such a rural area,” Broock said. “More parallels get drawn between calling people witches and criticism with women who are involved with the #MeToo movement.”

Students, faculty and parents’ watch the Drama Queens performance in the Blackbox Theater. Zoe Eyraud (’28) sat in the audience, following the story as it unfolded. “My favorite scene or moment was the one with KJ, Phoebe, Juliet, Maya and Beatrice, when they were in the counselor’s office all huddled around talking about how they wanted to have a feminist club,” Eyraud said. “I thought that the scene was so impactful, especially with what’s going on right now in the world and how women were impacted during that time.”

Sitting at a school desk, Shelby Holcomb, a student who challenges others to speak up (senior Sofia Capanna) performs her monologue. Eyraud said certain scenes stood out to her for the way they showed friendships developing after conflict. “I think connection with other people and moving past differences and past history. For example, the one part with Selah and Sofia,” Eyraud said. “That showed connection after going through something hard and bonding together after a hard event.”

Surrounded by juniors Maya Sakhinini, Beatrice Washburn and Juliet Lukas, KJ McPherson’s character (‘26) advises the students as they discuss plans to start a feminist club. McPherson played Bailey Gallagher, the school’s guidance counselor, while the other three played students from the school. McPherson talked about why students should take initiative and question the expectations around them. “Women’s rights are still a large issue in our society,” McPherson said. “And while we might feel empowered at Archer directly, there is still so much work to be done outside of our immediate community.”

English teacher Mr. Smith (junior Phoebe Gustafson), intervenes in a meeting between the students and the guidance counselor. Gustafson has been involved in theater since seventh grade and joined Drama Queens this year. She said the rehearsal process and preparation made the final performance feel rewarding. “I was really happy with the amount of people that came because I wasn’t expecting so many people,” Gustafson said. “We spent three or four weeks on it, and I was very happy with how well I felt we pulled it all together.”