Where’s a playwright to go after exploring the bounds of outer space and the confines of a parrot cage? For award-winning playwright (and former Bohemian contributor) David Templeton, the answer is “back to school”.

Templeton, whose most recent plays Galatea and Featherbaby were well received on both coasts, is premiering his latest work at Santa Rosa’s Montgomery High School, which makes sense in as much as the play is set at a high school. 

Templeton’s All in Favor is a teen comedy about how a class of 13 high school art students, in the year 1976, face a series of challenges, surprises and setbacks while working to complete a large complicated mosaic mural in time for the United States’ 200th birthday.

The whole thing is set in the school’s basement over the course of about six months. The characters are a mixed bag of contrasting personalities, and every one has something at stake as their relationships with each other unfold and change. On a meta-level, the story slightly mirrors the debates, compromises and collaborations the founding fathers had while crafting the Declaration of Independence.

Templeton’s previous plays premiered at such venues as Left Edge Theater and the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, so how did this one end up at a high school? 

“That’s where the teenage actors are”, said Templeton, “and I needed 13 of them for this story. In fact, had it not been for Chris Schloemp inviting me to come in last year and share my idea with his students, after which I was invited to write for them to workshop as their spring show in 2026, I probably would have assumed no theater company would consider a nonmusical play of this size, and never have written it. I’ve realized that schools need plays like this, in which students can play kids their own age, even if 1976 does feel like ancient history to a lot of them.”

Schloemp, a teacher at Montgomery for thirty years, agreed. “The play answers a need we have in the high school theatre space. We need casts with large ensembles, and mostly female roles. That’s just what we typically get in our enrollment. We need age-appropriate roles. And we need plays for teenagers about teenagers, written realistically, he noted.

“I really like this play because the one adult role does not solve their problems for them: she is there for inspiration and support, but the teens have to figure their issues out themselves. Teenagers will rise to the occasion if given the right context to flex their leadership potential. The play is about young people finding their voice and speaking up to power, so that makes the play even more appealing.” 

Early in his creative process, Templeton posted an inquiry on social media about his potential project and Schloemp responded. “One day he posted an idea for a play that he thought might have a hard time being cast because it had 13-14 teenagers and one adult. I commented, ‘David, you have five really awesome high school theatre programs in this area. Just pick one’”, he recallled.

“He picked Montgomery. Why? I suspect David knew that I would be able to deliver the goods for the premiere of his new play, at least I hope so. Also, I would like to think that the demographic at MHS is a better match for the kids he wrote: we are a solid, working-class and middle-class school with a diverse student body, just like the fictional high school he created.” 

How did the students react to the possibility of doing this production?  “The students were very excited from the moment I brought the opportunity to them,” Schloemp stated. “The chance to workshop a brand-new script, especially by such a locally well-regarded playwright, brought out all their enthusiasm and energy. They couldn’t wait to meet him and show him our space.”

“One of them even suggested a particular character for the play, and not only did David respond by including that character, but the young man who suggested got cast in that part as well. There is a great deal of investment for them, knowing that they get to shape what these characters will be for everyone else who comes along in the future, ” he continued.

“From the beginning I’ve been listening to the cast’s ideas and suggestions,” Templeton related. “Originally, I was going to title it The Project, but it was pretty clear they didn’t like that title, so I eventually offered All in Favor, which comes from how often the characters in the play vote on things related to their art project. They were right. It’s a better title.” 

“Later, after the play was written – with a significant, and generally positive mention of Cezar Chavez in the script as he was actually one of the figures the characters included in their mosaic – there was a gathering of the actors to decide how to deal with the new information about Chavez. Out of that conversation came a number of changes to the script, which Chris had the class vote on, just like their characters do in the play,” Templeton added.

While teens playing teens sounds easy, the time period presented some challenges. “The dramaturgical work has been a heavy lift”, said Schloemp. “For them, 1976 is ancient history. In fact, one of the students, at a Q&A for a reading of the play, called it a ‘period piece’. Ahem. For David and me, this is our youth; for them, it’s a question on a History exam.”

“We have been doing character journal work to help guide them to all the things they need to know. We listen to The Carpenters. On vinyl. We watch episodes of Welcome Back, Kotter. They have had to learn how to use slang from the era correctly. (“What it is” was a hard one.) The world their characters inhabit is one without Star Wars, or the Internet, or smartphones. They hang out together and talk. I think it’s been really refreshing for them,” he pointed out.

So what does Templeton, who’s been a regular attendee at rehearsals, think of what he’s seen on stage so far? “It was amazing how close the tableaus look to what I’d imagined,” said Templeton. “My feelings while watching are a blend of recognition and discovery. It’s one of my favorite parts of working on a play, when my imagination meets that of the other participants and something new and a little unpredictable happens.”

‘All in Favor’ runs May 8 -16 at the Montgomery High School Performing Arts Center, 1250 Hahman Dr., Santa Rosa. Fri & Sat, 7:00pm. $10–$15. gofan.co/app/school/CA22992

Graphic by Beto Garcia

Photos by Ash Wilson

This article originally appeared in an edited version in the North Bay Bohemian.