Get into character and learn more about Bear River’s upcoming performance.

The autumn season has just begun and Bear River is crawling closer and closer to the upcoming production of Our Town being performed the last two weekends of November, starring Bear River and Magnolia students.

Sara Noah, the director of the production, gave the basic run-down of the events in the play.

“Our Town is a Pulitzer Prize winning play that presents the story of a small town called Grovers Corners in New Hampshire,” she said. “The play takes place from 1899 to 1913 and follows the lives of George Gibbs and Emily Webb, who live next door to each other and grow up together. It is a picture of a simpler time, but has a great message about living life to the fullest.”

Jordan Moore, a sophomore, shared her view on what her character, Myrtle Webb, has to portray.

“The play takes place in a time where children have to be really respectful to their parents and have to like do chores all day and if they don’t, then it’s 30 winks, which is like getting hit or something,” she said. “… So the mothers of the house have to be very firm about their authority.”

Adam Merrill, another sophomore, explained what he enjoys about the show.

“I like the end, which I won’t reveal any spoilers,” he said. “… Because it’s kind of, I don’t want to say boring, but at the end, it ties it all in together about what all of this (the story) means and why it actually matters.”

According to Andrew Jeffers, a freshman, the actors truly are the centerpiece of the play — there won’t be any props used. Jeffers admitted that he wouldn’t mind a few more props.

“This play needs a lot of work considering that it’s all going to, spoiler alert, it’s going to be mimed, so not everything will look realistic,” Jeffers said. “We just need to get a little bit more practice in to make sure we know where everything is because people keep on walking through the table.”

Jordan Moore also elaborated on her opinion on miming.

“My character especially has to deal with the miming quite a bit because she’s a mother,”Moore said. “She’s waking up every morning opening the curtains, getting dishes done, setting the table, making breakfast. So, yesterday (September 25) we actually did a workshop on miming with a friend of Ms. Noah’s. Phew. It’s going to be a lot of work.”

The actors all agree that it’ll be a lot of hard work, so why do they want to be a part of it? Merrill explained why he auditioned for Our Town.

“Well, to be completely honest, because my friends were in it and it sounded fun,” Merrill said. “I wanted to hang out with them.”

Jeffers added his reasons for trying out for the play.

“I auditioned because in Ms. Gouveia’s class we were reading a book called Nothing but the Truth and there were different characters that everybody got turns playing as,” he said. “She said that I did a good job and that I should audition for the play. I had told my mom that and she said that I should go for it.”

Moore also emphasized why she enjoys acting in Our Town.

“I like how real it is,” she said. “It’s not overly theatricalized, if that’s the right word. It kind of just accurately represents that time but it does so in a way that’s entertaining.”

As actors explained why they auditioned, Ms. Noah explained why she chose this production in the first place.

“I love this show because of its message and the way it is staged,” she said. “It is challenging for actors, especially the miming, but we have a trained mime who is coming to work with us. It is a timeless play that helps the audience look at all of life in a different way. I like plays with strong messages, and I also like pieces of literature that are recognized as being extraordinary.”

Ms. Noah also shared her view on why she thinks that students and parents alike will enjoy watching the play as much as she enjoys directing it.

“I encourage everyone to come see this show, as it has a great message and is a very interesting production,” Ms. Noah said. “I think all students should experience viewing important pieces of literature like this.  Let’s all learn to appreciate our lives, every, every minute!”