With the opening of All My Sons at the Williston Theatre upon us, the stage is constantly busy as those involved in the production prepare. Nightly rehearsals for the 1947 drama by Arthur Miller are energetic and productive as director Ms. Emily Ditkovski leads the cast and key members of the crew in making the best show possible.

All My Sons, which takes place after World War II, depicts a family and their neighbors reeling in the emotional aftermath of the war. Dealing with guilt, blame, and love, as well as the chase of the American dream, the classic is taught in classrooms across the country and the world. This year, English classrooms here are teaching the play as well. To go along with this, the role of dramaturg, someone who researches a play, has been introduced to Williston.

Nick Dalzell, the dramaturg for this show as well as assistant director, says, “The position of dramaturg is a flexible one. For this show it [involves] incorporating historical context into work on the production.” In addition to providing historical background for the cast and creative team, Dalzell has been working closely with English teachers to help incorporate the show into the eleventh grade curriculum. In the same vein, history teacher Mr. Peter Gunn visited the cast a few weeks ago to talk about the context of the era. Says Ms. Ditkovski, “He added so much context to our rehearsal process.”

Ms. Ditkovski says about her choice to produce this play this fall, “This piece is beautiful and complex. Despite the fact that it is done in high schools all the time, I resisted doing it for a long time. It is a lot to put on young actors but I taught it in my directing class a few years ago and the students loved it so I thought- let’s go for it! I hope to give our audience exposure to this kind of theatre and also a chance to discuss some of the interesting and powerful questions the play raises.”

Rehearsals have been busy. Blocking (setting up what actors do physically and when), lines, and character work coincide to create an organized mess. Ms. Ditkovski, who says she enjoys character work the most, says that “the actors need to understand so much about every character in the play and each character is incredibly layered and rich so we have a lot of work to do. I love it!”

All My Sons plays at the Williston Theatre at 18 Payson Ave. on October 23 at 7:30 p.m., October 24 at 7:00 p.m., and October 25 at 7:30 p.m. There will be a talkback with the cast on the 24th after the show.