This winter, Indian Mountain School’s Theater Company endeavored to do something new – a staged reading with only a few short weeks of rehearsal, to be mounted in the round as the last production in the old Assembly Hall before we moved to our new Qianxun Performing Arts Center. For this venue, we selected a classic work – the teleplay of 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose. 

This famous work – best known in its iteration as a 1957 film starring Henry Fonda – is a story of twelve jurors in a deliberation room for a murder trial, as one juror seeks to convince others of a reasonable doubt. We wanted to allow students to delve deep into a character study, examining these twelve archetypes and how they interact with each other over the course of these 31 tightly plotted and gripping pages. 

As rehearsals unfolded, we saw seventh and eighth grade students grappling with questions that felt as timely and fresh in 2025 as they did when this teleplay was written over seventy years ago. We asked questions about class and identity, about what justice looks like. As one juror articulates, “it takes a great deal of courage to stand alone” – to question prejudice and seek the truth. 

By creating a theater in the round, and having our jurors emerge from the audience, we wanted to include our viewers in an immersive experience. The judge addresses the audience. She speaks to each of us in turn, asking us to consider the facts of the case, to weigh them honestly and thoughtfully. We are faced with a grave responsibility. When the guard locks us in the room, we are all in this together. 

— Directors Kelly Tieger & Dana Domenick

View Photos from 12 Angry Men