Students at Delran High School will put their spin on the classic drama “12 Angry Men,” or, in the school’s case, “12 Angry Women.”
Scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., the show will follow the deliberations of 12 women chosen to decide the fate of a man on trial for his father’s murder.
According to Delran Play Director Laura Schreiner, students will reenact the jury’s deliberations and frequent arguments.
“The first verdict of the show is 11 to one,” said Schreiner. “The show then goes over the rest of the evidence and tries to convince the one (jury) holdout that the man is guilty and that he should be sent to the electric chair.”
While the idea for the show came to Schreiner after a production she directed nearly 12 years ago, the director wanted to do “12 Angry Women” because of its prominent roles. She said the play’s gender switch has given the school’s fall play a different vibe than in previous shows.
The cast began its work last month. Actors are Nafisah Dozier, Melek Yilmaz, Kayah Chisholm-McVay, Neve Boudreau, Madison Chafin, Robin Sadowski, Paige Curtis, Kate Swander, Lindsay Merrill, Anastasia Ramsdell, Javera Chaudhry, Julie Brennan, Cole Capriotti and Reina Caraballo.
“For me, the hardest part has been dealing with paragraphs and having to remember them,” said Dozier. “For instance, there’s this one line for me that is a paragraph and I’m supposed to read it and show that I’m thinking instead of reading past it. But I just want to speed past it.”
“Also making it sound like actual conversation is something that we all struggle with,” admitted Swander. “We’re all waiting for each other to say our lines and I’ll say mine instead of making it flow like real conversation.”
According to the cast members, the play’s audience will see a range of emotions; a strong stage presence; and countless arguments, logic and reasoning
“The audience will be able to see the ability to change minds,” Schreiner explained. “I think sometimes it is very difficult to let go of something you have held on to for so long and feel so strongly, but one by one the play (characters) will show the error of making snap judgments and first impressions can be really wrong.”
“12 Angry Women” will be staged at Delran High School’s performing arts center.
