Members of the Mt. Hope High School Masqueraders are presenting “Proof,” a special student-run show play by David Auburn, this Friday at Kickemuit Middle School in Warren. Junior Bella Mancieri stars as Catherine and produces the play, which is the school’s first-ever complete student production. 

Theater teacher “Britney Verria gave me the play to read last winter. I absolutely fell in love with it and the main character, Catherine. I wanted to be able to play her,” Bella said.

Though with a small cast “Proof” wasn’t big enough for a full-fledged Masqueraders production, Ms. Mancieri enlisted fellow actor RJ Lima as the director, and together they collaborated to put the production together. 

“Acting for me is a very big passion and I want to learn every aspect there is of putting on a play,” said Mr. Lima. “Having this opportunity to direct is one of the greatest things that I’ve been able to do.”

In the play, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions,the arrival of her estranged sister and the attentions of a former student of her father's who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that he left behind.

The cast includes Bella Mancieri as Catherine, Claire Harrison as Claire, Ryder Ferris as Hal, and Jaden Sullivan as Robert.