For most members of any Drama Club around the world, the lead of the production is always reserved for experienced actors who have participated in many shows in their lifetime. But not for Jon Ridge, senior at Woodland who played John Proctor, one of the main roles in Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”.

When Ridge landed the role of the Massachusetts farmer, it was only his third show he was a part of at Woodland, which he feels extremely grateful about.

“I was humbled, I felt like this was a big challenge and I was eager to start the adventure,” said Ridge about receiving the star role.

Ridge really captured the role the way Arthur Miller intended the character to be portrayed. He was able to recite the script word by word and even was able to help out fellow cast members when they stumbled on their lines.

After seeing the performance live and in person, fellow student Chris Lauck also thought that Ridge was pure magic in his performance.

“After reading the Crucible and seeing the movie I think Jon was the perfect person to play Proctor. He was completely mature about everything and the role fit him beautifully,” said Lauck.  

Dave Essilfie, who was also in the crowd, said it plain in simple, “He killed it, absolute perfection.”

When asked on how he thought he did in the performance, Ridge looked to deflect the attention on the others who helped him along the way,

“Mrs.Cinnamon really whipped me into shape. She motivated me to learn my lines and really kept me on task. The other members on the cast were great too always adding their input to make me a better actor and capture the role I was playing,” said Ridge. “At the end of the day I would say my performance was moderate but as whole, I think it was an excellent production.”

Acting isn’t the only place where Ridge dabbles in the arts. Ridge is also a musician in a garage band. Along with bandmates Dave Essilfie, Matt Hicks, and Jackson Henry, Ridge looks to bring the music he loves.

“I love music, I always have. It runs through my blood, it’s both enduring and fun,” Ridge said of his fondness for music.  

Ridge also takes pride in that he can play both bass and guitar.

“It adds an extra dimension to my music. I feel like when I learned the bass, it made it easier for me to write music and it sounded better,” said Ridge.  

Ridge believes his band has a strong future because all members are so talented and unique.

“We all have a passion for music that’s incomprehensible. Even if we don’t make it to stardom, I can say I had a good time doing it and I met some great guys who I’ll be loyal until the very end,” said Ridge.

Ridge’s passion doesn’t end at music either. Ridge also plans to produce, direct, and star in a motion picture.

He said, “I really thought Hollywood was drying up. I gained my inspiration after watching Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’. That movie is everything I want in a movie and it motivates me to master the art of film.”

Ridge’s current project is about “the stereotypical high school hierarchy.” Ridge has been hard at work in the writing process for his film and said that he’s nearly complete.

“I’m excited to share my work, that’s the beauty of film. You share your creativeness with everyone else and inspire a new generation of film maker,” he shared.

As far as legacy goes, Ridge is only concerned about one thing.

He said, “I want to be remembered. I want to be remembered as the person I am not just the things I do.”

Ridge’s motivation remains simply to enjoy what he is doing.

He said, “Fun. I only do something if it’s fun. If it isn’t fun than what’s the point in doing it?”