The Perry High School drama department is preparing for their upcoming presentation of Up the Down Staircase.
The well-known play is based on the book by Bev Kaufman. It takes place in the mid-1960s in an innter city high school in New York. Sylvia Barrett is the new English teacher and is excited about her first teaching job but what she encounters are students who come from hard lives and don’t trust anyone.
Director Merrilee Bales says the cast has the job of putting flesh on the bones of these characters and pulling the audience into their reality, however painful it may be. She says the characters in this play have so many layers, but one by one they peel off during the show, exposing deep scars as they start to heal through the dedication of one teacher.
Performances take place November 9th and 10th at 7:30pm in the Perry Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for adult and available at the high school office or at the door the night of the show.
To hear more about the play and what it takes to put on such a production, tune into next Wednesday’s Profile Interview when Bales and several cast members will be in studio to talk about their experience thus far. That’s October 31st at 9:30am on AM 1310 KDLS.