Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, um… who’s next?

The cast of "43 Plays for 43 Presidents" can tell you.

This year, Paly Theatre will present a play chronicling the life and
times of each American president.

A play all about the past, and present, leaders of our nation comes in perfect timing for the election this year as well.

Just as the Democrats and the Republicans are attempting to show the nation their best political side, the Paly Theatre is putting on their own political grin with this presidential satire.

"43 Plays for 43 Presidents" will celebrate its inauguration as Paly’s fall play at 8 p.m. on Oct. 28 in the Haymarket Theatre. Closing night will be Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. in perfect time with the nationwide Nov. 2 election the following day.

"I think to do something political, well_ this is really the year to do it," director and theater teacher Kristen Lo said in addressing the cast at the first rehearsal.

Lo held the auditions after school on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, and placed posters around campus encouraging students to try out.

"The choices [after the auditions] were really difficult, I wanted each person to be in the play," Lo said.

Based on the cast list, which went up on Sept. 6, each actor has an average of about five roles. Because there are scenes for each and every one of the 43 American presidents, basically all cast members have starring roles for at least some portion of the performance.

At the start of the first day in the rehearsal process, the cast and crew assembled themselves in a large circle on the stage.

"This is one of the few days when we’ll all be here as a cast," Lo said.

Lo will run most of the rehearsals by scene, in half hour time slots, so, according to Lo, not everyone will be required to be there everyday.

At the first rehearsal, rather than using a conventional method of introduction, Lo asked each person to not only state his/her name, but also to give an answer to the question "If you could be any president, which one would it be?"

Some cast members were sure of their answers. Others admitted that they did not know enough yet about the U.S. presidents to decide. Even though some cast and crew members seemed more politically informed than other, one thing is for sure: they will all learn a lot through the rehearsal and performance process.

"This is a good opportunity to get to know all the 43 presidents and what they did, each one of them," said senior Ryo Tashiro, who will play President Monroe. "Besides knowing their major accomplishments, you get to know their personalities too."

The 26-member cast will have many opportunities to learn about the presidents over the next few weeks. A lot of time will be dedicated to mastering different American accents and dialects, and many of the rehearsals will feature "table work," where actors will focus on analyzing their characters and understanding how the scenes fit together from a historical perspective.

It is crucial for each actor to understand "why a scene is important and where it fits into the scheme of the presidents," Lo said.

Cast members are encouraged to know why their characters act the way they do.

"If you’re playing a president, do some research about it," Lo said.

The cast will undoubtedly leave each performance with heightened understanding as to each President’s place in American history, but cast members say that "43 Plays for 43 Presidents" has much to offer audience members as well.

"If you’re politically minded, you should come to see the play to get new views on all the presidents," said sophomore Adam Magill, who will play Presidents Eisenhower and Roosevelt.

"All the scenes are non-fiction," said junior Sarah Ferguson, who will play First Lady Sarah Polk. "It would be good to come and see the play if you’re in a U.S. history class."

The cast is confident that the audience will be entertained for the entire performance.

"The play will involve a lot of work with props and costuming," Lo said.

The play even has a major audience interaction scene which Lo guarantees to be a great surprise.

"The play is comically oriented," Magill said.

Ferguson added, "It’ll be really funny. It’s satire."

But what set off the creation of a play that acts as a sort of anthology for the lives of the American presidents? "43 Plays for 43 Presidents" is a new production, and according to the production history, found online at www.andybandit.com/Presidents/history.htm, the mayhem created by the election in the year 2000 served as inspiration to co-writer Andy Bayiates.

And just as the nation was divided in their opinions on the election controversy of 2000, the play depicts varying points of view as well.

"Some are wideheld opinions, some are not," Lo said.

"43 Plays for 43 Presidents" will run for five performances in the Haymarket Theatre at the following times: 8 p.m. Oct. 28, 4 p.m. Oct. 29, 8 p.m. Oct. 30, 3 p.m. Oct. 31, and 8 p.m. Nov. 1.

Tickets will be available one to two weeks prior to opening night, and can be purchased in Kristen Lo’s office in the Haymarket theatre, at the auditor’s office, or at the door before each performance.