Marysville-Pilchuck students present ‘12 Angry Jurors’

MARYSVILLE — The Marysville-Pilchuck High School Drama Club is presenting “12 Angry Jurors” for the third time in the school’s history.

Shows from Nov. 5-7 will be followed by shows from Nov. 12-14 starting at 7 p.m. in the M-PHS auditorium, and director Roy Klementsen hopes the community will check out what his students have been working on after school Mondays through Thursdays since early September.

Klementsen credited former M-PHS drama teacher Brian Kesler with suggesting the play, since Kesler performed in the play as an M-PHS student and directed it during his first year as a drama teacher at the school.

“We’ve done comedy for so many years that I thought we’d try out drama,” Klementsen said. “The interactions between the jurors gets intense at times, so it lets the kids show off their acting chops.”

Klementsen described the cast as fairly new to large parts, having played mostly bit parts before this play. He also touted the unusually intimate setup of this play, in which 60 seats for the audience are placed on the stage itself, barely a few feet away from the actors.

“That way, they can feel like they’re overlooking the jury room,” Klementsen said. “That’s important in a play where you’re got seven people with their backs to the audience the whole time.”

Klementsen has enjoyed getting the students to come together for this production, which he touted as offering an exceptional entertainment value for the community.

“You should definitely come see what our high school students can do,” Klementsen said. “It’s an exciting show, and for just a few bucks, it’s a nice cheap evening of theater.”

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