“Did you hear about Amanda’s next-door neighbor?”

“Well, I heard she’s pregnant, and the father is her best friend’s fiance!”

“Oh, what a scandal! Wasn’t she on ‘Jenny Jones’ last week?”

Scandal is exactly what “The School for Scandal” — the first performance on the 1997-1998 ISU Theatre roster — is all about.

Jane Cox, associate professor of theatre, chose and directed the play. She said even though the play was written in 1777, the play is, in many ways, contemporary.

“The issues that confronted people 100 years ago are still the same issues that confront people today. People remain the same in lots of ways,” she said.

“[The stage] is mostly all mirrors, so that most everybody can see themselves sitting in the audience so they are on stage in a way, too. They are part of the setting of the stage, part of the mood of the play.”

Mary Carr, a senior in zoology, plays the character Mary, one of the ladies in the prestigious Lady Sneerwell’s circle of gossip.

“I like it because it is set back in a previous time that I’m not familiar with and the costumes and mannerisms are interesting,” Carr said.

“It’s a very fun play to see. There’s a lot of comedy in it. It’s a very enjoyable play, and I’m sure a lot of people can relate to it, [to] the theme about sex and scandal and rumors and society,” she added.

Willy Thompson, a sophomore in the performing arts, plays the character Joseph Surface. He said doing a period piece was an interesting experience.

“It shows a time in history when everyone enjoyed looking beautiful, enjoyed moving beautifully, enjoyed dressing up and going out to see their friends, not just throwing on a T-shirt and jeans and saying, ‘Hey, Fred, how’s it going?'” he said. Surface is one of two brothers who is after the affections of Maria, the ward of Sir Peter Teazle, while also trying to woo Lady Teazle, Sir Peter’s wife.

“I think [the play] broadens their horizons. I think everyone needs to see things they don’t see every day. It makes them a more well-rounded person,” Thompson said.

Patrick Gouran, associate professor of theatre, plays the character Sir Peter Teazle, who marries a young wife half his age.

“I think it’s a classic, classic piece that is extremely relevant to today’s society as well as 1777,” Gouran said.

“Anytime you do a style piece, which this is, the language, the phrasing of the language, the movement, wearing clothes that you are totally uncomfortable with wearing and keeping a kind of witty and clever repartee amongst the characters [is] very challenging,” he added.

One the biggest challenges for the cast was getting used to the elaborate costumes.

“It’s not weird wearing tights, it’s weird wearing so much clothing,” Thompson said.

Another one of the difficulties for the actors was working with the language of the play.

Thompson said he carried a dictionary around with his script because he didn’t know what some of the many big words used in the script, like “avarice,” meant.

“I think another hurdle one has to work with, with a period piece is the language. It’s not all that different — not extremely different — but it is different,” he said.

However, Thompson warns would-be audience members not to be intimidated by the language or think they won’t understand the play.

“I think the actors get the definition of what they’re saying across to the audience. Once you get into the whole cycle of what’s going on, catching all the words isn’t so important,” Thompson said.

Getting used to the mannerisms of another time period was another difficulty for cast members.

“The mannerisms of the people at that time [were difficult] because they were elegant and proper,” Carr explained.

Thompson said that actions during the time period were nearly choreographed and people were expected to move in certain ways.

“The people back then had very appropriate ways to move; there were set ways to walk, set ways to sit down, set ways to walk down the street,” Thompson said. “The style of the times is very graceful, like it is in ballet, but that doesn’t mean we’re standing on stage in tutus.”

Cox said having a professor act with the students was another unique aspect of the play.

“[Gouran] wanted to be a member of the cast and treated like everyone else; he wanted to hear suggestions and ideas as a member of the cast,” Cox said.

Thompson said working side-by-side a professor was quite a learning experience.

“It was intimidating at first. I learn from him; the age and the occupation didn’t matter; we were just actors,” Thompson said.

Gouran, too, said he learned from his students.

“The judgment of your worth as an actor has nothing to do with your age or your degree, it’s do you have the talent and do you externalize the character,” Gouran explained.

This is the last weekend to catch “The School for Scandal.” Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2:00.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Iowa State Center Ticket Office located in Stephens Auditorium.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and $4.50 for ISU students and children.