Saturday, November 2, 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 3, 2:00 p.m.

By Sarah Opdahl

Take a tr ip through time with a set of furniture in The Dining Room, playing the first weekend in November at New Fairfield High School (NFHS). Seventeen student actors take on an astonishing fifty-seven roles in the intriguing comedy of manners, written by A.R. Gurney in 1982, and you will not want to miss taking a seat at the table.

The dining room central to the piece is in a well-appointed home owned by a wealthy family and is oft occupied for meals and special occasions. The focus on the space, with a changing cast of characters was of interest to NFHS’s Theater Director Jess Smith. A theater professor at Sacred Heart University who moonlights with the high school theater program, Smith says, “’I have never directed The Dining Room before, though it was on my radar for sure.” When the high school’s Choral Director Andrew Gadwah suggested it, she agreed that it made sense for this year’s fall play. “I love the way the scenes develop, one overlap ping another. One character will be on stage at the end of a given scene, and characters in the next scene will enter, going about their business, but the two scenes remain completely unrelated,” she said, going on to say, “It is interesting to direct those transitions in a way that feels possible and truthful.”

Though the theater program is a popular one, it goes through fluctuations year-to-year and this year there is a smaller cast, given that many theater kids graduated in the spring. Given this, Smith said, “I had seen [the play] and liked the idea of a small number of actors portraying multiple characters, so it was an easy one for me to consider.” Smith described the fifty-seven roles as understandably “complex” and said “It has been a unique opportunity for us to explore differentiating characters.” While one actor may exit one scene playing a grandparent who is struggling with approaching end of life, they may next enter the stage as a younger person in a troubled marriage. “The actors are diving into the scene study, and working with physicalization and vocal techniques to make this happen, and I am proud of the work they have been doing,” Smith praised.

In her third year leading the high school’s theater program, Smith is happy to continue cultivating the engaged students, remarking that it is a “culture of hard-working actors and crew, building and developing their crafts every year.” With a robust New Fairfield Middle School program serving as a feeder to the upper school, Smith is happy to see the students thriving, even in their first year. “It is great to see this happening, and it is a dynamic that is good for the school and the community at large.”

Please join in celebrating local theater and the work of the Rebel Players in The Dining Room, Saturday, November 2, 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 3, 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available at the door—$15/adults and $5/students & seniors.