Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" is so popular that its performed somewhere in the United States every day of the year.
But you won't have to travel far this weekend to see the show.
Jason A. Frizzelle/The Daily Reflector |
Chelsea Cross rehearses lines from the play 'Our Town' at D.H. Conley High School.
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The D.H. Conley High School Playmasters will perform Wilder's classic at 7 p.m. today and Saturday in the school's auditorium.
"Our Town" is a Pulitzer Prize-winning story of a small New England town in the early 1900s.
The three-act play is set in the fictional community of Grover's Corners, modeled after several New Hampshire towns, and details the interactions between citizens of an everyday town in the early 20th century in their everyday lives.
"It's the go-to high school play," said Matt Ringrose, the school's theater teacher. "It doesn't cost a whole lot of money. Doesn't require a lot of scenery, and it has a lot of parts, but nothing too big."
Ringrose is a Greensboro native who graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor of fine arts in theater education. Working at Conley is his first teaching position.
"When I got here, I created a club and named them the Playmasters because that is what my high school drama club was called," Ringrose said.
The club's membership varies, depending on the show.
"We usually have about 35 to 40 devoted students," Ringrose said. "'Our Town' has a cast of 23."
He added that at the beginning of the year, he holds a couple of meetings, but once productions are being worked on, the rehearsals are the meetings.
For "Our Town," the students practice four days a week, Mondays through Thursdays, either from 3:45-5:45 p.m. or 6-8 p.m., depending on the schedule.
Ringrose deals with a host of scheduling conflicts because of his students' busy lives.
"We have students who have other commitments and jobs," he said. "Sometimes it's a bit of a nightmare, but I've found that if the schedule is done far enough in advance, those who are really committed will find a way to be there."
In the two years that Ringrose has taught at Conley, the theater program has grown.
"They generally did two main stages a year before I got here," he said. "Last year we did three evening performances. 'Our Town' will be the fourth big stage production for this year."
What: "Our Town"
When: 7 p.m. today and Saturday
Where: D.H. Conley High School, 2006 Worthington Road
Cost: $5
Call: 756-3440
