Hard-boiled crime stories don't usually take place in high school. Drugs, kingpins, murder and revenge are the stuff of gritty urban back alleys, not teenage afterschool activities.

Brick, the latest production by the High School Repertory Company at the Children's Theater of Western Springs brings the dark side to life in classic film noir style, while offering a shocking and riveting perspective of teenage suburbia.

Written by Chris White and based on a screenplay by Rian Johnson, Brick is the sort of play not usually associated with the Children's Theater of Western Springs. When selecting Brick for this season's lineup, Children's Theater Director Leslie Price said, "We decided to do Brick after hearing about it on NPR's Filmspotting…and after reading the script it was perfect for our students. It's edgy enough without it being too edgy, and it's turned out to be a really great experience for them."

At the center of the story is Brendan, a teenager on a quest to discover the truth behind his girlfriend's murder. Delving deep into the mystery surrounding her death, Brendan meets a host of questionable characters that pull him even deeper into a complex and unexpected world of crime. Yes, Brick isn't your typical afterschool special, but it maintains a certain relatable quality exploring universal adolescent conflicts such as love, loss, peer pressure, acceptance and the search for individuality.

Director Emily Monteagudo, herself a CTWS High School Repertory Company Alum, is thrilled to return to CTWS to direct her third production. She is excited about the opportunity for growth this particular production provides the actors.

"It was a great chance for the students to work with language that was really colorful and a style that was really sort of cool to work on," said Monteagudo. "And to give them a chance to learn things that they could learn doing Shakespeare, but in a more contemporary way, to play with those same things; a language that was figurative and unfamiliar but seemed more exciting and fresh."

Bringing together a cast of 19 high school students was not an easy task, but with an impressive crew and the spirit of volunteerism alive throughout the company, Monteagudo says she is happy to see the production coming together cohesively. 

Pin, played by Joel Swanson of Western Springs, says being able to work with such a great cast and group of people is the best part of having a role in Brick. That, and being able to play a bad guy.

"I have always played the comic relief in all my plays so it was a good time to be the villain for once. I really liked being intimidating. And we had really good fight coordinators, violence designers; it was good to work with them," said Swanson.

Helping to coordinate the fights scenes, manage the actors and make sure everyone arrives on time is Kaitlin Jeffries, who was selected over the summer for the position of Assistant Director. Although being on the other side of the stage has been interesting for Jeffries, it has also been rewarding. Landing this assistant directorship means Kaitlin will be making her directorial debut in the spring at CTWS. 

"Drawing the line between being a leader and being a friend has been challenging," said Jeffries, a senior at Downers Grove North.

"Brick is definitely very different from anything you would expect a high school company to be doing, I think that is what appeals to us about it most," said Jeffries.

Brick runs November 5-14. Contact the Children's Theatre of Western Springs for tickets and information at www.theatrewesternsprings.com.