For many of Lois Gorne's students, ties to the Federal Way High School drama program run deep.

Since taking the helm of the school's drama department in 1982, Gorne has no doubt made a significant impact in the lives of hundreds of former Eagles.

Marking her 97th production with the school, six of Gorne's former students will once again take the stage at the FWHS Little Theater. On February 15 and 16, the all-alum cast will perform "Laundry and Bourbon" and "Lone Star," a pair of companion plays written by James McLure.

"We hope this production serves as PR for the program as well as a fundraiser," Gorne said. The volunteer alumni cast plan to use proceeds from the ticket sales to raise money for the school's Speech and Debate team.

"Speech and Debate requires a lot of funds because we travel to nationals," Gorne said. The director said a snowstorm in early 2007 forced the program to cancel one of its fundraising debates, resulting in a shortage of capital needed to travel to state and national tournaments.

Gorne said she wanted to make sure this year's talented Speech and Debate team earned every opportunity to showcase its abilities. 24 members of the team earned berths to the state tournament in last week's qualifier, she said.

The director said she considers the alumni cast in this weekend's productions "a special group" that never severed their ties with Federal Way High's drama program.

"They're people I've kept in contact with over the years," Gorne said.

Keeping in touch

Cast members like Wade Craig (Class of 1981) has remained an active member of the program since graduation, building sets for decades of student productions at the Little Theater.

"It's been fun to build a set for a play that I'm in," said Craig, who estimated this year's alumni performance would mark the 50th set he has built for the FWHS drama program since graduating.

Gorne's daughter, Robin (Class of 1983), who appears in "Laundry and Bourbon," and her husband, Ken Taylor ('83), who has an alumni role in "Lone Star," were married on the Little Theater stage.

"That's one of the great things about teaching," Gorne said, "The relationships you make with students."

"It's great to be able keep in touch with them as they grow up and go out into the world," she added.

Drama as a uniter

As students, though, the six alumni contend Gorne's gift as a teacher brought them from a variety of backgrounds to instill in them a love of theater.

"When she took over the Drama department in 1982," said Teresa Houser ('84), who plays Amy Lee in "Laundry and Bourbon," "student participation in school productions was almost nil and drama had a reputation as being for geeks or stoners."

"She challenged the status quo," Houser said.

Houser said Gorne's teaching style appealed to a wide variety of students, all of whom found a new passion in performing on stage.

"Jocks, cheerleaders, science and math whiz kids, choir students and those kids who bordered on flunking out, started coming together to put on three full-length school productions each year," Houser said.

"Drama certainly appeals to a lot of different people," Gorne said. "It's neat to see how, coming from different areas of interest, they can come together and form a common bond."

"It really breaks down some barriers," she said.

A new perspective

For this year's alumni cast, the opportunity to take the stage after a 20-plus-year hiatus offers a completely new set of rewards and challenges.

Aside from memorizing lines-a skill most of them have not practiced since high school-the cast indicated they considered balancing busy lives, careers and families with a rehearsal schedule the most challenging aspect of these productions.

"It's hard to fit in all of the rehearsal time with our lives and families," said Craig.

"But our families have been really supportive," Houser interjected.

The cast said they now have to do more in less time, whereas in high school they would routinely stay at school from early in the morning to late at night.

"In high school we literally lived here," said Taylor, who had Gorne-his future mother-in-law-for three of his six classes his senior year.

Grown up life, they said, doesn't always allow for such luxuries.

"It's a juggle, but we're smiling the whole time," said Taylor. "I love drama so much I married into it."

Time away from the stage has also offered the cast a fresh approach to acting.

Houser said she has put in extra effort to develop her character, Amy Lee.

"When you haven't done that in a while," Houser said, "you really have to put a lot of thought into developing a character."

Taylor said an additional 20 years of life experience has helped him better understand his characters.

He said he can more easily relate to a character who is 30, now that he's in his 40s.

"When you're 17 playing a 30-year-old," Taylor said, giving his best impression of a shriveled and weak old man, "you think: 'Oh, man, I'm thirty!'"

"These are adult characters with adult experiences," Houser said. "In high school you just haven't gone through any of that."

"We can all really relate to these characters now," she said.

About the performances

Together, "Laundry and Bourbon" and "Lone Star" give a picture of life in the mid-seventies in the one-horse town of Maynard, Texas, where the women get drunk during the day and the men get drunk at night. These black comedies depict the effects of the Vietnam War on those who went and those who stayed home.

In "Laundry and Bourbon," we visit Elizabeth's back porch in Maynard, Texas, on a hot summer afternoon. Elizabeth and her friend Hattie are whiling away the time folding laundry, watching TV, sipping bourbon and Coke, and gossiping about the many open secrets that are so much a part of small town life.

They are joined by the self-righteous Amy Lee, who can't resist blurting out that Elizabeth's husband has been seen around town with another woman.

While the ensuing conversation is increasingly edged with bitter humor, from it emerges a sense of Elizabeth's inner strength and her quiet understanding of the turmoil that has beset her husband since his return from Viet Nam.

"Lone Star" takes place in the cluttered backyard of a Maynard, Texas bar.

Elizabeth's husband, Roy, a brawny, macho type who had once been a local high school hero, is back in town after a hitch in Viet Nam, and trying to re-establish his position in the community. Joined by his younger brother, Ray, who worships him, and Amy Lee's husband, the nerdy Cletis, Roy sets about consuming a case of beer while regaling Ray with tales of his military and amorous exploits.

Roy cherishes three things in life: Lone Star beer, his wife Elizabeth, and his classic pink Thunderbird car, not necessarily in that order.

Ticket Information

Gorne said she considers the companion plays black comedies with more mature themes, suitable for high school and up. Tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for high school students, and will be available at the door. Theater-goers may also purchase advanced tickets by calling (253) 925-8543.

Showtime is 7:30 p.m., February 15 and 16. Doors to the Federal Way High School Little Theater open at 7 p.m.

Gorne expects a significant turnout, particularly because of the fundraising nature of the event.

"We have a pretty good following in the community," Gorne said, "There have been a lot of parents and people in the community that no long have children in school but want to come to the performances and support the program."