Jim Peterson, director of theatre and film, has recently been preparing for “The 39 Steps,” which has performances scheduled for Nov. 12, 13, and 14. Rehearsals begin on Sept. 28. Mr. Peterson described the play by saying, “The idea was that they took The 39 Steps, which is an Alfred Hitchcock film, and they adapted it to the stage and they made it for four actors.”
Preparing the script for the play has provided many challenges for Mr. Peterson. He said, “The most stressful for that (The 39 Steps) was trying to create a multi-actor script…so I’m trying to expand that out and I’ll probably be using about 19 different actors. So, it was written for four, but there’s obviously 150 different characters to play, so it was just trying to figure out how multiple actors will play one character.”
The play is a comedy, so audience members can look forward to a good laugh at the show. Cast member and freshman Bri Ferracciolo said, “ I think it’ll be a really fun and exciting rehearsal process and show. The show is supposed to be funny and really good, and I’m really thrilled to be apart of it!”
Although casting has been stressful, Mr. Peterson is looking forward to a fun experience. He said, “Trying to figure that out has been a headache, but it’s been a lot of fun trying to be creative and to get the best fit for who has auditioned and getting them into the different roles and kind of playing for comedy and getting some unusual combinations, you know, between gender, and size, and look, that kind of thing. So that’s been fun.”