Lauren Lierly, 17, has acted in the annual drama productions at Nevada Union High School since her freshmen year.

Ask her what she's learned from acting and she'll gush about teamwork, empathy and honesty with oneself.

This year, Lierly is directing "The Boys Next Door," a play by Tom Griffin that opens next month at NU's Black Box Theater. It's about four men with developmental disabilities living under the care of a young social worker. Lierly said the play has opened her eyes to people with disabilities and made her realize "how they are a part of society, just like us."

Lierly isn't the only student at NU who's found an educational purpose in acting. Most cast members of this year's play agree that acting has taught them life lessons, such as patience, acceptance and hard work.

"The NU drama department teaches us to be real," Lierly said. "In everyday life, there are pressures that force us to act in certain ways, but when you are acting on stage, you can finally be true to the character's emotions without worrying about the pressures of the world."

"Acting has given me a purpose in life - something to strive for, a direction where to go," said Michael Voorhees, 17, an NU junior. "It's given me a discipline to learn lines, to research characters."

Voorhees said he wants to pursue a career in acting.

"I'd love to do films and (be an) actor in Hollywood," Voorhees said.

In this year's play, Voorhees is one of the disabled characters who's very obsessive and gets easily depressed, Voorhees said.

Rob Metcalfe, drama instructor at NU, said he chose a play with characters with developmental disabilities because he "wanted to show these people to the audience in a way that might take their discomfort away while dealing with the mentally handicapped."

"Our audience includes high school students ... so we want to show these characters to young people in our community so that they develop a deeper appreciation for them," Metcalfe said.

The cast has been working hard to bring authenticity to the portrayal of handicapped people. The actors have spent time in group homes, the special education department at NU and the Neighborhood Center of the Arts in Grass Valley, Lierly said.

Janet Sayer, a 17-year-old senior, who's portraying a disabled woman in the play, said she based her physicality on an autistic girl at NU whom she peer tutored last year.

"It's really hard to capture the physicality of a disabled person," she said. "(My character) speaks very slowly and (has) the mind of an 8-year-old. She acts very young and naive, but she has raging hormones. She's the love and trust of one of the disabled men in the play."

"We've just been observing these people whom I didn't recognize or notice in the past," Lierly said. "One thing I learned is how much they desire to be normal and lead a normal life. It's wonderful to spend time with them."



To contact Soumitro Sen, e-mail ssen@theunion.com or call 477-4229.

n Who: NU theatre department



n What: The boys next door by Tom Griffin.

n When: 7 p.m., April 18, 19, 24, 25, 26; 2 p.m., April 26.



n Where: Black Box Theatre at Nevada Union High School



n For more information, call 273-4431, ext. 2102. Tickets cost $8 for students and seniors and $10 for adults.