"Twelve Angry Jurors" trailer!

Cast of "Twelve Angry Jurors"

Cast of "Twelve Angry Jurors"

Cast of "Twelve Angry Jurors"

Cast of "Twelve Angry Jurors"

A limited number of tickets are now on sale to see Cloverleaf High School Drama's fall play, "Twelve Angry Jurors," on stage at Cloverleaf Elementary School Nov. 4-8. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Seating will be socially distanced and masks are required.

Click HERE to watch the trailer.

Click HERE to buy tickets.

The show must go on: Cloverleaf High School Drama carefully goes live for fall play

By Nolan McNeal and Maggie Moran
Cloverleaf High School Journalism Students


Innocent until proven guilty and the opportunity for a fair trial are two common ideas that should be an implied right to every American accused of a crime. In “Twelve Angry Jurors,” these basic principles are tested as a jury decides the fate of a young man.

Cloverleaf High School Drama Club will perform "Twelve Angry Jurors" as its fall production Nov. 4-8 on the Cloverleaf Elementary School stage.

The show is co-directed by Cloverleaf teachers John Carmigiano and Victoria Krus. They are getting special assistance from Cloverleaf High School building substitute Scott Bell.

"We are grateful for the opportunity, and our hope is that with more shows we can accommodate as many people as possible to check it out and support our students," Carmigiano said. "I directed the show many years ago, as my first fall play at CHS, and I think it is a great opportunity for our actors and actresses to get an awesome experience."

There will be shows Nov. 4, 5, 6, 7 at 7 p.m., along with two matinees Nov. 7-8 at 3 p.m. The audiences will be limited for this production, and tickets will go on sale at 3 p.m. Oct. 28 to the general public until the tickets are gone. The link to purchase tickets will be posted on the Cloverleaf High School website. Attendees must have their tickets prior to the show nights.

The assistant student director is junior Arabella Polen, and the stage manager is junior Hannah French.

“Arabella has done a great job these past few years, and she really has a good rapport with all the directors, students, and crew members,” Carmigiano said. “We believe in getting input from our drama students and challenging them.”

The cast of 12 jurors and on-stage actors includes seniors Emily Pamer, Emily Winnicki, and Brenna Holliday. The juniors include Joe Donnelly, Cassie Beck, Annabelle Lormeau, Kaitlin Duke, and Zachary Friess. The sophomores include Madison Vasel and Aubrie Hayhurst. The freshmen are Grace Goldsberry, Brianna Walkuski, and Kaylee Matheny.

"Our drama students are doing a great job so far of learning their parts, and becoming these 12 unique jury members," Carmigiano said. "There are many themes in the show that bring to light some of the very social issues going on in the world today, so that makes this classic play very timely."

Pamer, who plays Juror No. 8, agrees that the show is perfect for today’s world.

“Anyone interested in crime shows and courtroom dramas would really like this,” Pamer said. “The jurors try to decide whether or not a man is guilty of murder. There is a lot of back and forth and a few pretty intense moments.”

The crew consists of Ally Schmitt, Katy Schmitt, Jack Szklarz, Reese Barnett, Madilyn Otterbacher, Nathan Patterson, Mallory Jason, and Gavin Smith.

The actors, crew, and directors are rehearsing using social distancing whenever possible and with their masks on. The directors decided to rehearse remotely for the first few weeks on Google Meet.

As they got closer to the show, they started to rehearse on the Cloverleaf Elementary School stage. The set for the show promotes social distancing as it is a jury room with chairs spread out around the tables in the room.

"We are very excited to have an opportunity to even do a show with everything going on," Carmigiano said. "We picked a production that would be good to have social distancing, and that would be entertaining for our audience. Everyone seems to like a good court case and trial these days."

The Medina County Health Department approved a plan to allow the performances with a limited audience of 75 people or fewer. All audience members will have to be masked and use social distancing.

“I am extremely excited to be able to perform the show in front of an audience, even if it is small and socially distanced,” Winnicki said. “When doing shows live, the actors and the audience feed off of each other. This interaction is what makes live theatre so amazing. Each show is slightly different depending on the audience.”

The setting is Chicago in the late 1970s. Amy and Emily Winnicki assisted with the time period costumes. Community member Eric Martin designed the set, and Jim Heinrich, a long-time friend to the Cloverleaf Drama Club, is the sound director.

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