Opening Night for 'Up the Down Staircase' is Thursday [VIDEO]

Sylvia Barrett is a young idealistic English teacher, who has a hard time reaching her students as she deals with constant road blocks and silly rules imposed by school administrators and incompetant teachers who find her techniques unusual. Will Sylvia reach these young minds before she gives in to her frustration and leaves the teaching profession for good?

Find out in the Monroe Middle School Campus production of the Bel Kaufman novel "Up the Down Staircase." The show, directed by David and Susan Halliwell, will be performed in the Jockey Hollow Middle School auditorium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30. Admission is $15 at the door and $12 for students.

The novel was written in 1965 and Tad Mosel wrote a screenplay based upon it in 1967. Up the Down Staircase has since been performed by many high schools over the years.

"It was a play when I was in high school," David Hallwell said of his acting days at Joel Barlow. "After the show, I will announce to the kids what character I played."

"It was a new play when I was in high school," Halliwell added with a chuckle.

Sara Bhatt plays the leading role of Ms. Sylvia Barrett and Matt Skiba stars as Joe, one of the students she tries to reach and eventually finds they have a lot in common.

The original play was set at an inner city school in Manhattan in the '60s and told through a student suggestion box, announcements and telegrams. The Monroe Middle School Campus' version takes place in modern times, where telegrams are replaced with emails.

"She is innovative and creative with her teaching, which is not common at her school," Susan Halliwell said of Sylvia Barrett. "She clashes with other teachers and the principal and deals with an innane set of rules."

The fact that the story centers around life in school resonates with Monroe's young cast, according to David Halliwell.

He said, "The thing we both found with the show is it's something the kids can relate to immediately and something that is timely."

The title "Up the Down Staircase" refers to the school psychologist's description of students who do not conform to the rules, going against the grain. Susan Halliwell also points out how ridiculous the description is, because staircases are made for people to go in both directions.