With the third and final night of performance, IST’s production of 12 Angry Jurors came to an end. As one might expect, there was a very distinct air of sadness among cast members on realizing that the entire thing was over. The process was challenging. I think especially the rehearsals were filled with many moments where we all lacked motivation in session to provide full energy and engagement because we were so burdened with homework and test preparation and university application, it felt like there was too much happening at once. In some sessions I would be so tired from the day of school that I would carry a heaviness with me in rehearsal. With each minute, with each step, with each re-run - weariness. I think also we would have a time focusing because of this mental exhaustion so we would get distracted and have side conversations or snickering to stimulate us but it ended up just making us very unproductive and prolonged the process of rehearsal. There was, however, a sense of commitment form every member, including myself, to make sure that the show happened and that it would be of good quality. We had to commit to ourselves and to each other to work together There were also many moments that made me so so grateful to be a part of this ensemble. For instance when scenes went well in rehearsals and there was just this sense that everyone was proud of everyone else - it feels nice for someone to be proud of you. We were encouraging, never really put each other down and so this created a lot of positive connections between us - new friendships and relationships formed. These continue to exist outside of the high school play environment and this is something i am so so grateful for. As a sort of conclusion, I would like to just note that the 3 nights of performance were so sweet and special. It was rewarding as a performer to feed off of the energy of each other and of the audience to produce something that touches them like out production did. Honestly, it was such a wonderful feeling to receive notes of congratulations and gratefulness. At the end of the day I walked away with not only new skills with acting and performance but also new insight on collaborative work as well as the thematic messages of the play that raised my awareness of the nature of prejudice and human conviction. 10/10 experience.