When Old Rochester Regional High School Drama Club director Paul Sardinha was looking for new material for his students, he happened upon the ideal script in Dramatist magazine.

Sardinha said he saw “Triangle,” written by Laurie Brooks, in the magazine and had one of those “Aha!” moments. The play was written for the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. The fire caused the death of 146 workers, which spurred passage legislature that improved the working conditions in factories.

“It’s going brilliantly,” Sardinha said. “What we have is a good educational piece for the kids. You're talking about the history of the mill workers, the factory workers and the injustices they suffered.”

For Sardinha, the appeal of the play was in the educational aspect of doing a play based on history. The students, he said, get the chance to learn more about an important moment in the fight for workers' rights as well as challenge themselves as actors with a demanding emotional piece.

A member of ORR's drama department for 22 years, Sardinha said the best thing he can do as an educator is to expose students to as many choices as possible.

In theater, according to senior Scotlyn Adler, who plays Rose, she has a better understanding of a subject that -- due to lack of time in school -- students cannot deeply explore..

“We studied it in depth in our junior year and did a mock trial,” Adler said. “We really did our research then, but this was fun because this way, when you put yourself in the shoes of these people, you learn more than in a textbook.”

The play opened on Nov. 17 in the high school auditorium, and included a special performance Friday morning Nov. 18  for Grade 6 students in the district. The younger class attended a private performance after which they were able to ask the cast members questions about the show and the material.

According to senior Megan Pierce, who plays Malena, the question and answer session is helpful for the sixth graders. “It’s about getting them engaged historically,” Pierce said. “It’s a good teaching method because the kids will see some representation of what happened instead of just being told about it.”

Senior Rachel Vincent agreed, “It’s a heart-wrenching show,” she said. “It tests your skills as an actor because this has to be what your character would be feeling. For a moderately short show, it will be amazing for the kids to see the emotion involved.”