Drama students at Green River Community College now are in full rehearsal for the school’s winter quarter production of “Twelve Angry Jurors.”

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 5-6, 12-13, on campus at the Bleha Performing Center, 12401 SE 320th, Auburn.

Instructor Gary Taylor is striving for a production that will strongly underline the themes of the play – issues of prejudice and the struggle to find justice for diverse groups in American culture.

The story of the play focuses on 12 jurors who must decide a capital-offense case: whether to reach a guilty verdict and sentence the 19-year-old defendant to death. At the beginning of the play, 11 of the jurors believe that the boy killed his father and voted guilty. Only one juror, Juror No. 8, believes that the young man might be innocent. That solitary juror then tries to convince the others that “reasonable doubt” exists. Piece by piece, Juror No. 8 picks apart each item of evidence to persuade the others. And one by one, the jury is persuaded to agree with Juror No. 8.

“Jurors” was originally a one-hour TV drama in the 1950s, entitled “Twelve Angry Men.” It also was performed as a stage play and then an award-winning 1957 film, starring Henry Fonda. The play was then adapted in the 1990s, for an all-female cast, entitled “Twelve Angry Women.” More recently, it has been performed in a gender-neutral version called “Twelve Angry Jurors.”

The GRCC drama department will stage the gender-neutral version, with two separate, mixed casts, one performing each weekend.

Tickets and further information about the play are available at 253-833-9111, ext. 2400.