When he graduated from C.M. Russell High School in 1983, drama teacher Chris Evans never thought he’d end up where he is today.

“I had a friend of mine say [that] I’m just weird enough for the drama class, and said I should come check it out,” Evans said.  “So I did and now look where I am.”

Even though Evans said it doesn’t exactly work for everyone, he still hears a lot of success stories from the drama department, and he likes to think of his own as one of those stories.

Evans said he always tries to persuade kids to come see what drama has to offer. One of his methods is to produce shows that appeal not only to the student body, but also to a greater audience including parents, friends.

The CMR drama department’s first show of the year will be  “The Foreigner,”  written by Larry Shue and it will hit the stage Nov. 21-23.

When it comes to picking out a show that appeals to the greatest number of people, Evans said that he doesn’t just want a random, boring production.

“It’s the funniest show I’ve ever directed before,” Evans said. “It’s hilarious.”

Junior actress Dallas Flemming, who was disappointed by the cancellation of “Romeo and Juliet,” hopes this production will make up for her not portraying Juliet on stage.

Jumping right into drama her freshman year, Flemming said she wanted something extracurricular and fun on her schedule. She said she is not a very athletic person, so she chose drama.

“I saw this behind-the-scenes thing on the drama department and I saw how much fun everybody was having,” Flemming said. “And I wanted it.”

Flemming is set to play Cathrine in “The Foreigner.”

Fellow actress Rebecca Cleveland, a senior, will play Betty. Cleveland describes Betty as the old woman who owns the house which everybody in the play is staying.

“When I think of Betty,” Cleveland said, “I think of girl power. Hardcore, old-fashioned, girl power.”

Cleveland, who has also been in drama since her freshman year, said that she can’t wait to see what this year in her drama class has in store for her.

“I’m looking forward to being able to spend so much time with my friends and other people,” Cleveland said. “I like the people who care because they make it all worthwhile.”