There are a great many lessons to be learned from live high school theater. Among the most important are the concepts of collaboration, cooperation and accountability.

Student cast members of the Conestoga Valley High School (CVHS) fall play seem to recognize that teamwork does in fact make the dream work.

"One of the biggest things I stress is that we're a family, that we work together to bring each other up and help each other out," said Vincent Whitman, the director of CVHS' fall play. "I tell the students, 'You're there to support everyone, and we're there for everyone as a person.' I also remind them that all the hard work they put in has led up to the shows. I tell them to go out and put everything they have into it."

This season's CVHS fall play, "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde, will be presented in the CVHS auditorium, 2110 Horseshoe Road, Lancaster, on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. The Thursday show is designed for seniors only and is free to attend.

Tickets for the 90-minute, three-act performance are available at  https://cur8.com/448/project/127000 or at the CVHS auditorium an hour before each show.

"It's basically a farcical comedy," said Whitman. "I'd say that about half of the cast already knew about the show and the other half didn't. There was a mixture of feelings about it at the beginning. Now that we're in it, (the student cast members) are really starting to grasp all the comedy in the show and really digging into it. They've come to love this just through doing it."

There are 40 CVHS students in grades nine through 12 involved in the production of "The Importance of Being Earnest," including 17 cast members and 23 members of the stage and technical crews. The cast features Phillip Le as Jack Worthing, Cristian Nabor as Algernon Moncrieff, Hannah Gensel as Gwendolen Fairfax, Logan Jack as Cecily Cardew, Ilyana Neufeld as Lady Bracknell, Natalie Hopta as Miss Prism, Alex Rivera as the Rev. Chasuble, Tien Nguyen as Lane and Isaiah Baughman as Merriman.

"For most shows, I work from beginning to end. But for this show, we work from the end to the beginning," said Whitman. "We start at Act Three, go back to Act Two and then back to Act One. For the students, I want them to grasp how all of this comes together and to understand the end."

"On that first day of the show, there are a lot of nerves," added Whitman. "During that Thursday show (for senior citizens), it's a smaller audience, and that gets (the student cast members) going for the next shows. By the last show, they're so relaxed. It's so interesting to see how the characters grow from the first show to the last show."

" 'The Importance of Being Earnest' is a wonderful show that everyone is bound to enjoy," said Hannah. "This show is just as witty and humorous as it is complex and compelling. It's a shorter show, but the plot has so many twists and turns. I am playing Gwendolen, a prim and proper lady who's not afraid to speak her mind. That's not my personality, so it's been a fun journey to try and become her onstage." 

The public presentation of "The Importance of Being Earnest" will represent the culmination of eight weeks of hard work by the student performers, two hours of rehearsal, four times a week.

"One of the most important things we do is to help develop the characters," said Whitman. "Many of the veterans are pulling the newcomers aside and bringing them up to speed. They're saying, 'Let's work together and make sure we're all ready.' It takes all of us."