John R. Armstrong Prepares John Proctor as MFA Thesis Role
By Tom Robson

John R. Armstrong has spent more time inside the IU Department of Theatre and Drama than many current faculty members, having received both his undergraduate and graduate training here. As an undergraduate he appeared frequently in Professor George Pinney’s musical productions, including The Pirates of Penzance, Into the Woods, and Parade, where he played lead character Leo Frank. After several years outside Bloomington, including time spent as part of the national tour of Seussical: The Musical, John returned home to Indiana to enroll as an M.F.A. acting student. Since his graduate career started John has given us such memorable performances as the horrible Harold Ryan in Happy Birthday, Wanda June, the hilarious Robert Sideway in Our Country’s Good, and the heartbreaking Marvin in Falsettos. Now, he prepares his most difficult role to date as his M.F.A. thesis role: John Proctor, the intense conscience of Arthur Miller’s iconic play The Crucible.

Well-schooled in musical theatre from his undergraduate and professional work, John came back to Bloomington looking to stretch himself into the realm of dramatic acting. He cites this as his primary reason for choosing Proctor as his thesis role. “The whole point of choosing a thesis role,” he says, “is to choose something that will stretch you.” He goes on to say that he sought the role of Proctor because “I’ve always wanted to have a role on my résumé that is one of those earmarks in dramatic literature.” He refuses to be intimidated by the storied history of his role, noting, “As soon as I was given the role I did feel some of that pressure at the beginning. You do recognize everyone’s expectations, but you have to remember that you’re portraying a person, telling the story of a specific person. All you can do is tell that story.”

Having worked on the IU stage as both graduate and undergraduate gives John a unique perspective on the IU talent pool. “There are some very, very talented undergraduates in the Department, and I don’t believe I’m any better than them at any level. We’re all peers pursuing the same thing.” Still, his experience allows him to bring additional knowledge into rehearsals, something from which he hopes his fellow actors can benefit.

As his time at IU draws to a close, John naturally looks ahead to the future. At the moment, however, that future remains somewhat unclear. “My wife is auditioning for graduate school,” he says. Bloomington audiences might recognize John’s wife Anjanette from her work in Cardinal Stage Company’s Our Town and the Brown County Playhouse The Importance of Being Earnest. “We might take our family to another place and do this whole thing in reverse,” John says. “Ultimately we want to stay connected to the professional theatre, be that in Chicago or New York, but we’re trying to plant the foundations for a long career in the theatre.” An avid Colts fan, John closes our interview saying, “We’re looking at the end zone, not at the first down marker.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PRODUCTION:

• The Crucible homepage
• The People of the Production
• An Interview with Dan Kremer
• Costume Designer Katherine Garlic
• Scenic Designs
• Press Release
• Arthur Miller, Joseph McCarthy, and The Crucible, an essay by Dramaturg Tom Shafer
• Documents on Poetry and Metaphor, prepared by Tom Shafer and Deanna Nichol
• An Artist of a Special Class, a pre-show lecture by Nick Cullather
• Costume Designs

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