A man by the name of Michael Wells, a highly intelligent history professor at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, is being held captive by Shiite Muslim extremists. Back at home in the States, his wife is tormented and tries to comfort herself as much as she can. A woman from the U.S. State Department known as Ellen Van Oss and an experienced journalist named Walker Harris have been trying to convince her that each of them knows what is best for Michael regarding his rescue.

Relax, this isn’t some new crisis that’s happened recently; this is the plot of a play called Two Rooms created by Lee Blessing. The AHS Theatre Ensemble will be taking on the challenge of this play, a 46 page read and a very small cast of four. This year’s play will be featuring Christopher E. Schuetze as Michael Wells, Jahrell Gallaway as Walker Harris, Jenette Johnson as Lainie Wells, and Bryana Greer as Ellen Van Oss. Originally written in the late 1980s, this situation could very well have been in today’s news, which is both depressing and frightening.

The Nest sat down with Mr. Dales to pick his brain about the upcoming show.

The Nest:  Why such a small play?

Dales: Because I knew that the State Department of Education was handing down new requirements that would consume a great deal of my time in the Fall, so rather than cancel the Fall play to accommodate for the extra work for the regulation, I thought it’d be better to choose a piece that’d be more manageable for me.

The Nest: Did you choose to do this play or did someone recommend it to you and why?

Dales: I…chose the play and for several reasons, one: I love it. Two: it is a very political piece – it allows us to challenge our audience to think about the world beyond their everyday life – creating deep conversations in classrooms and student assemblies. Three: we are bringing back our guest artist Alex Koche to train faculty on the software we used for My Fair Lady, so we need a project that requires projection in this play.

Two Rooms, as mentioned by Mr. Dales, “is a very political piece.” It brings up the issue of foreign policy in a very crucial election year.  In reality, the actual Lebanon Hostage crisis happened between 1982 and 1992 with one of the most dramatic hostage-takings occurring on June 14, 1985. Negotiations for the release of hostages by the Reagan administration have since been of great debate because of its impact on foreign policy.

With many of the cast members’ final year of high school coming to a close, everyone’s preparing themselves both physically and mentally to make this play a success.

The Nest: How do you connect to your character?

Christopher E. Schuetze: I connect to him as being a serious person. I understand Michael, at times we both have to learn to control our emotions.

Jahrell Gallaway: I feel like a man who’s trying to complete his goals and complete something that took a long time to do.

Jenette Johnson: It’s hard, because she’s literally nothing I am. I try to take the situations and make them the same situation that I would have.

Bryana Greer: I try to I think of myself as Ellen. I do not make her a different person, I make her myself.

The Nest: What was your reason for trying out for this play?

Christopher E. Schuetze: I enjoy acting out. This is my senior year, and I want to have at least one play under my belt before I go out into the real world.

Jahrell Gallaway: When I was a kid I always wanted to be a famous actor. I’ll do whatever it takes to fulfill my dreams.

Jenette Johnson: Because doing plays is what I enjoy.

Bryana Greer: Because I love doing the plays here. I wanted to do the Fall play because I wanted to be the character of Ellen really badly!

Being the small play that it is, the actors really get a chance to bond with one another both on and off the stage when rehearsing. The set of the play is built by the technical crew who create the stage and the lighting. It’s also built around the people who organize all the rehearsals, the construction after school, and those who help the actors with their lines whenever they can. Two people that really stand out when it comes to this this show are Production/Stage Manager Julie Salinero and Assistant Director Tyaela Nieves.

The Nest: What are the things you do in your role as Production/Stage Manger?

Julie Salinero: I make schedules for rehearsals, I run rehearsals, I coordinate tech, I help with auditions, and help actors with their lines. I call the show.

The Nest: What are the things you do in your role as Assistant Director?

Tyaela Nieves: I get to pull actors aside and help them with their scene work. I get to help run exercises, motif, voices, and help the actors understand their characters.

 The Nest: What do you like about your job and what challenges do you face in your role?

Julie Salinero: I like organizing and helping the actors and the techies learn how to do things. It’s very time consuming and sometimes it’s very hard to manage a large cast.

Tyaela Nieves: I enjoy the responsibility and the authority, and the experience I gain. It’s a little strange directing people that are older than you and people that I don’t know that well. And being an understudy, I have to understand my character as well as understand everyone else’s character at the same time.

The official show times for this play will be November 16-17 at 7pm and November 18 at 2pm. The performance location will be the Albany High School Theatre, 700 Washington Ave., Albany, NY. If you have any questions, get in contact with Mr. Dales at [email protected]. The running time will be about an hour and a half with intermission.