For Carol Schlink, it has always been about theater. In fact, when she was a student performing in school productions, she knew that when she grew up, she wanted to teach theater.

Life intervened, but after she was married and had children, she returned to school in her forties and studied theater performance. She continued to perform in local and regional theater, including Perishable, Second Story, and Trinity. Then, by coincidence, Mt. Hope High School found itself looking for a performing arts teacher and having some trouble filling the position. Ms. Schlink had the requisite experience, so she was hired, and quickly worked to get her certification.

Mt. Hope was her professional home for 15 years, from 2000 until her retirement in 2015. “After about 2010, I was so busy at school, I wasn’t able to perform,” she said.

Retirement changed all that, and Ms. Schlink is one of the “founding mothers” of the Women’s Work Theatre Collaborative, which stages productions by and about older women. Right now, she is directing a collaboration with Epic Theatre called “The House of Bernarda Alba,” by Frederico Garcia Lorca. It has been adapted by Emily Mann and is being performed in Cranston.

According to Epic’s synopsis, “After her husband’s funeral, Bernarda announces to her five daughters that they will mourn for eight years in total solitude. Little does she know that a man from town has captured the hearts of more than one of her daughters, and the resulting passion in the face of oppression leads to an unforgettable climax that will change Bernarda’s family forever.”

“The original story was set in 1939, and it’s about the oppression of women in Spain during that period,” Ms. Schlink said. “The set is spare; I wanted to take it out of that era and setting so women of all ages and cultures could relate to that oppression.”

Ms. Schlink, who has already had the pleasure of working with her former performing arts teachers in Rhode Island’s tight-knit and vibrant theatre community, is particularly enjoying the fact that she is being afforded the opportunity to work with two of her former students on this production. Shannon Ott, a member of Mt. Hope’s Class of 2013 and a talented actress, plays the oldest sister and primary love interest of the show’s unseen antagonist in this ensemble cast. Teddy D’Atri, Class of 2015, is the production’s technical director, the same role he held throughout his high school career.

“It’s been amazing working with them, seeing them grow from being great kids to talented, hardworking adults,” said Ms. Schlink.

Mr. D’Atri agrees. “I think back to when I first met her as a 14-year-old student … I never would have imagined she would become a friend, and someone I get to work with almost daily,” he said. “It has been a lot of fun.“

“The House of Bernarda Alba” will be performed for one more weekend, this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23 and 24, at 8 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for students, and the theatre is located at 82 Rolfe Square in Cranston. For more information, visit www.epictheatreri.org.