Mount Vernon High School will be performing the play “26 Pebbles” Saturday, Nov. 9 and Sunday, Nov. 10 at Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Director Tom Stephens said this show is general admission and “pay what you deem fair” for tickets. All proceeds from the show will go to the Sandy Hook Foundation, which is focused on efforts to make schools safer.

“It feels in line with our mission as a theater company to expose our community to arts but also back our words with actions to the cause,” Stephens said. “Sandy Hook Foundation’s mission is all about making safe schools, which is something we all can appreciate.”

The play is a documentary work on the 20 children and six adults who lost their lives in Newtown at Sandy Hook Elementary, and how the community rallied together to care and support each other. The play’s message is how the impact of pebbles dropped into a pond can have a ripple effect around the rest of the world.

Stephens said he liked how the script handles such a sensitive topic, the shooting in Newtown, but finds a way to focus on the commonalities and the way the town came through their grief.

“One thing we as a cast have noted is the similarities we see in the community of Newtown and Mount Vernon,” Stephens said. “It’s helped students be able to see themselves in the script.”

Norah Weber plays the role of Carole in the production.

“I think it is really cool to be portraying the impact of a real person,” Weber said. “The script’s excerpts keep a lot of the pauses and way the lines were delivered.”

Of course, keeping to the script’s “ums” and stutters is difficult at times, as is portraying complicated emotions like grief, Weber said.

“There are a lot of emotions in the show that are harder to portray because they’re things I’ve never felt nor never hope to,” Weber said.

Allie Teague plays the role of Carrie in the production.

“I really enjoy the way this show focuses on the community and how they came together through their grief and recovered,” Teague said.

The portrayal of that grief at times is the biggest challenge.

“There are so many big emotions that you have to portray, and especially without talking or dialogue,” Teague said.

Natalie Thuerauf plays Carla in the production.

“This show brings a lot of attention to guns and what needs to change in our country,” Thuerauf said.

For Thuerauf, the challenge has been on portraying a real person impacted by these events.

“The show really opens eyes to an issue that school students think about all the time,” Thuerauf said.

“It’s a really good interpretation of school shootings, but also how important your community is in the grieving process,” Teague said.

“It really brings awareness to the issue, but it also shows how much communities come together,” Weber said. “Because they were such a tight knit community, it’s hard not to see the similarities to Mount Vernon.”