Students pour into the Revere High School auditorium after a long day of sitting in desks, writing down notes, and taking tests. They exchange joyful banter and get comfortable in different areas of the room. Different groups share stories of the day and talk about their common interests. Some chat in front of the stage at a folding table covered with scripts and various folders and bags. Rena Baker, their director, walks into the room, and greets the teens. The auditorium, full of a warm, familial aura begins to come alive with movement as the teens walk onto stage and begin rehearsing after a brief set of notes from their directors.

Director of the Revere Players fall play Baker and assistant director Laurie Russell chose Our Town for this year’s fall production. Baker and Russell have worked together on Revere productions for 19 years.

Baker has wanted to put on this play for 10 years but never felt that the personalities of her actors fit the roles in the production. Different from plays in recent history, Our Town relies on the abilities of the actors to express the emotions of their characters. The actors create the majority of the vision the audience sees while viewing the play, as the fairly simplistic set leaves much to the imagination. In fact, the play’s writers meant to have the play seem as if the audience was watching a dress rehearsal rather than a final product, with a sepia tone and minimalist designs dominating the set, as RHS art teacher Robert Pierson, who works on the set pieces and backdrops of Revere plays, explained.

“We have blueprints [for the majority of the backdrops,] so it has that staged look to it. We have blueprints of the church, and we have blueprints of houses. There is a cemetery scene. I decided to go symbolically and decided to have weeping willows, which historically you might see on a tombstone. It represents sorrow. All the scenery is symbolic rather than literal,” Pierson said.

The story takes place in New Hampshire during the early 1900s, following the lives of Emily Webb and George Gibbs, as well as the other residents of a small town called Grover’s Corners. The plot follows their lives as they grow up, get married and have children of their own. The play also reflects the culture of that time, with period costumes for the cast as well as the crew. The curtain never closes in any of the three acts.

As the play’s main purpose, the ability to evoke emotion in the audience comes through in the messages the story brings to light. It focuses on the importance of making the most of what time one has. The cast wishes to open the eyes of those who come to view it, as lead actress Lucia Boulos, who portrays Emily, explained.

“[We want to help the audience] realize that everything in your life is so important, regardless of how unimportant you may think it is. So when you are doing your routine, everyday cycle, you do not realize how everything that has happened to you has impacted your life,” Boulos said.

Two juniors, Anna Gerber and Ben Tipton, lead the crew this year. With only six crew members, rather than the usual fifteen to twenty, to take charge of the set, Gerber expressed that confusion may arise, as the ratio between actors and crew being so high, with 30 cast members in total. She believes that along with her co-stage manager the show will run smoothly, with each person taking charge in different areas of the preparation of the play. Tipton, in charge of carpentry, will work on the set pieces that help sustain the minimalist theme, while Gerber oversees and aids in the painting of the various backdrops.

Baker and Russell have faith in the abilities of this year’s cast. Baker explained that the cooperation and camaraderie of the cast members has aided in the rehearsal process. She also said that due to the solemn nature of this production, the cast partakes in humorous activities before they begin rehearsing.

“Somebody taught us a silly dance game that we all played, and they were all crazy. That is something I watch out for in the cast, that although I want them to take their parts seriously, these parts can suck you in. I am trying to watch that too, that everybody is okay, that everybody is doing alright,” Baker said.

Russell went on to describe how the cast feels about the play. Mentioning that while the play differs from ones in previous years, such as Alice in Wonderland, she expressed that the cast still enjoys it, because it helps them further their skills and abilities in the performing arts due to the overall tone of the play.

“It’s such a quiet, gentle story about feelings, emotions, and loyalties. We are all so excited about it. When we first read it, it was not like the usual shows that we do, . . . but we all love it,” Russell said.

The Our Town cast will include Jack Besenyodi, Sarah Blake, Sydney Borcherding, Boulos, Gina Ciolli, Caroline Crawford, Tylor Davis, Sasha Desberg, Ellie Edwards, Nicky Gutierrez, Ben Hunt, Andrew Kosich, Ethan Lockmiller, Dean Manning, William Marchetta, Amanda Marchetta, Tim Miller, Molly Oldham, Garrison Peters, Micah Post, Susie Post, Kelly Schikowski, Becca Schmidt, Julia Schwertner, Julia Scott, Noah Sigsworth, Jonathan Sprouse, Jessica Weil, Madison Williams, Charlie Wise, and Jacob Zimmerman.

The crew consists of Brandon Dutkiewicz, Anna Gerber, Eve McCarty, Meghan Nadzam, Alec Pardi, and Ben Tipton.

The group of students working in the tech booth contains Ariel Brinker, Jason Choy, Grant Crawford, Brendan Loeb and Ramia Mascioli.

The Revere Players will put on their production of Our Town on November 10 at 10:00 am for their senior citizen show, as well as November 11 and 12 at 7:00 pm and November 13 at 2:00 pm. Tickets will be sold during lunch to Revere High School students. The price for students at lunch and at the door is five dollars. Tickets for senior citizens are eight dollars. Tickets for adults are ten dollars pre-sale, and twelve dollars at the door.