Bloomington high school turns stage into 'The Dining Room'

Francesca Sobrer and her students open their production of A.R. Gurney's "The Dining Room" tonight at Bloomington High School North.\n"The Dining Room" takes place where the name suggests -- in a dining room. But whereas the set remains the same throughout the play, the scenes taking place differ greatly. To further heighten the dramatic tension, Gurney overlaps these scenes. A man looking to buy a home is taken through the dining room by a realtor, and before their scene is finished, two siblings enter arguing over what they'll do with the contents of the dining room. As they argue, an affluent Depression-era businessman enters, sits at the dining room table and calls for his servant.\nSobrer, director of theater at BHSN, chose the show for both artistic and logistical reasons.\n"I needed a show that could (go) anywhere I needed it to," she said, referring to the current construction at BHSN.\n"(Construction workers) would come in and start working in the middle of rehearsal," said BHSN junior Nick Romy. \nThe minimal production requirements helped the director and actors adapt to such adversity, but that didn't mean they needed to sacrifice their artistic integrity.\n"I really like this play. From a teaching perspective, it's a great challenge for these actors. They have to change themselves continually," Sobrer said.\nThe actors embraced that challenge. An actor might play a businessman in one scene, an 8-year-old boy in another and a grandfather later in the script. \n"I examined how my dad walked to get the right posture down," said BHSN junior Chris Morrison.\nThe unchanging set, minimal lighting shifts and sometimes unnoticeable costume changes place emphasis on the actors' abilities to create multiple believable characters to carry the show.\nThe actors are aware of how important their characterizations will be. \n"There's more at stake. People (will) expect more," said Zack Berkson, one of the two BHSN freshmen in "The Dining Room."\n"It pushes the limits of our acting," agreed BHSN junior Katie Hayden.\nStudents were also involved on the production side of the play. Sobrer admitted she doesn't know much about lighting and sound, both of which were designed by students. These students are also the first to design with and use BHSN's new sound and lighting equipment.\n"I've been really lucky to have kids who know what they're doing," she said.\n"The Dining Room" might not seem like typical high school material, but Sobrer said that's fine with her. She said she wasn't interested in directing a typical high school production.\nShe said she wants audiences to come see high school students "who behave professionally, to be genuinely captured by what they're doing onstage. We have some amazingly talented kids." \nThe script recommends six actors, but Sobrer extended the cast to 10 to give more students a chance. By high school standards, that's still a relatively small cast. \nSobrer said she believes the smaller numbers strengthen the ensemble.\n"When I did the 'Diary of Anne Frank,' those kids are still best friends," she said.\nSobrer and her students said they are ready for opening night.\n"We hope everyone enjoys this show. We hope everyone appreciates how hard we've worked on it," said BHSN junior Rachel James.\n"The Dining Room" runs tonight through Saturday. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 for students and seniors and $7 for general admission.\n-- Contact staff writer Patrick Doolin at pdoolin@indiana.edu.