Lauralton Hall's Twelve Angry Jurors Puts New Twist on Courtroom Drama

Twelve Angry Men is probably not in the top-ten list of plays performed at all-girl’s schools.  “That’s one of the reasons I chose this play,” says Lauralton Hall student director Cameron Gerrity. “I wanted to show that women could play those parts—that the themes in the play were universal. Originally the title was going to be Twelve Angry Women, but as there are two male actors we changed it to Twelve Angry Jurors.”   Based on the 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Jurors will be held in the Lauralton Hall Claven Auditorium, 200 High Street, Milford on Friday, February 8th at 7:30pm; Saturday, February 9th at 7:30pm and Sunday, February 10th at 2:30pm. 

“I was drawn to the play after watching the movie with Henry Fonda,” continues Cameron. “I thought producing Twelve Angry Men at an all-girls school would be eye catching and people would be curious as to how we would pull this off.  The production is also unique because there are no leading roles and all the actors are on stage all the time. It’s a character driven play with each character contributing to the story line and revealing a different aspect of human nature.”

Lauralton Hall faculty member Liz Burns is on-site for all rehearsals, but it is an entirely student run production. “Students are responsible for set design, lighting and props as well as directing. This is a really intense show, and all the actors have truly captured their individual characters.”

“I honestly think it’s awesome to have a student director,” says Nadia Makhraz, ‘13. “Cameron does a great job of telling us who our character is, but she also encourages us to bring our own ideas to the role."  Amanda Picoda, ‘15 agrees. “I love working with Cameron. We get to do a lot of improvisation during rehearsals. I’ve been in many plays before but I’ve never played a character that is mean and nasty. It's really fun.”

Cameron adds, “Student-Run theatre is important because it gives everyone the opportunity to take on responsibility and gain skills we are going to need in college and in our careers. It is our responsibility to show up on time; attend every rehearsal and work together to make this production a success. We work collaboratively; often changing the script to fit our needs (especially as it is a female-dominated cast). When the audience sees the show, I hope they will each find personal meaning—perhaps seeing something they like about themselves or something they would like to change. The play is a true reflection of human nature.”

Tickets will be available at the door: $10 for general admission and $7 for students and senior citizens.  For details contact: Liz Burns at: lburns@lauraltonhall.org