The cast and crew list of IB Theater’s newest show “Columbinus” has been posted. By IB Theater director Lori Thompson.

“Columbinus is a production written by the United States Theatre Project,” Thompson said. “I first saw it in Chicago. I thought it was so powerful and I knew I had to produce it at some point. I knew I had to do this show here with everything that’s going on in our world today, having the new lockdown drills and the number of times the flags were at half-mast this past year to honor victims of mass shootings.”

“Columbinus” tells the story leading up the shooting at Columbine High School 20 years ago.

“To prepare for the show we’re doing a lot of research, along with character conversation and analyzation,” Thompson said. “We look at the childhoods of the two shooters, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, the things they were involved in, where they met, and where the trajectory of their relationship was leading. We try to answer how does a person grow up playing t-ball and ends up being someone who is going to be a part of one of the biggest school shootings.”

The IB theatre students completed a rigorous audition process before being cast in the show.

“For the ‘Columbinus’ audition, the girls had to write two monologues,” junior Sarah Dziadzio said. “We performed our monologues in class. Once everyone finished their original monologues, Mrs. Thompson gave us excerpts from the script to memorize for the next class. There was no schedule for performing, so we had to be ready at all times. It was a stressful week, but it ended up being my favorite audition experience I’ve ever had because we all got to see each other perform.”

The cast has a little over two months of weekly rehearsals before they perform the show for an audience.

“I’m really excited because we all work very well together and there’s good chemistry throughout the group,” Dziadzio said. “I feel like the audience is going to see a little bit of themselves in each of the characters because I know I find myself relating to the characters struggles and dreams throughout the show.”

The IB Theatre cast will be performing “Columbinus” on March 15, 16 and 17 in the Ruby Zima Auditorium.