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Ellie Faeth

As other members rehearse with directior Grif Sadow, cast members who are not needed on stage read over their lines. "There are lots of fun characters and lots of dialects in British, German and Scottish," Sadow says.

Action! The 39 Steps cast has been chosen and is only on step one of rehearsing.

The Drama Club will be performing 39 Steps on Nov. 17-19 for the first time. First written as a book by John Buchan in 1915, it was adapted into an Alfred Hitchcock film in 1935 and  written into as a play in 2005 by Patrick Barlow. Although the book and film were meant to be serious, the play generates a comedic tone.

The 39 Steps is a classic spy mystery and suspense thriller set in the 1920s in London. The main character is Richard Hannay, the hero of the story, who becomes entangled in a web of crimes and spies. Hannay meets several characters that take him on a wild escapade through London to Scotland.

“The lead character is framed for a murder that takes place,” director Grif Sadow said. “His adventure is him trying to clear his name.”

The cast list was released with 22 members. There are five lead roles, several smaller parts, and an ensemble that will take on different roles throughout the play. All who have been casted are happy with their roles and the roles of others as well.

“I really enjoy all of the casting. They are really fun and I think they are going to put on a great show,” sophomore Wyatt Ecker, lead of 39 Steps, said. “It has only been the first couple weeks of the show and I already feel like everyone is comfortable with each other.”

The story is set in a transitional period in history: the 1920s. With the glory of show business, the cast is able to step away from the modern world and act in a time period much different to 2016.

“There is a different way of speech and a different way that people acted. It’s like the next level of playing someone in modern day because you get to learn how people acted 80 years ago,” junior Flora Sherr-Nelson explained. “You get to learn everything, like voice and movement.”

The original play calls for a cast of only four actors (three men and one woman) to perform all the characters in the story. Everyone in the cast is talented enough to fulfill just one or two roles.

“It would be challenging to have two people create all these different roles, so it is a little easier when you have multiple people creating different roles,” Sadow explained.

The drama club had to say goodbye to several seniors after graduation, therefore losing many students to take on lead roles. However, the new group of sophomores seem to fit right in.

“There is a great sophomore group,” Sadow added. “We lost a lot of seniors last year, especially males, so we are working on that.”

The actors were set to see the film on Sept. 30, however, some had seen it previously. As the roles are adapted from screen to stage, the cast is excited to become their characters after observing how they act in the film.

“I definitely get inspiration [from watching the film],” sophomore Greta Geiser, who plays Hannay’s love interest, stated. “However, I’d also say I would do it a little bit differently.”

As the rehearsals have commenced, the final performance will be coming soon. The cast is ready to take on any challenges that this play will bring and is excited to perform for the community starting Nov. 17.

“Everyone is extremely talented, committed, versatile and funny,” Sadow said. “I’m really thrilled with what we have.”