“The Skin of Our Teeth” debuted March 5 and will continue its run March 6, 7, 12-14. Emma Weightman, Caleb Sohigian, and Harper Wilamoski are the leads in a production that includes a mammoth and a dinosaur on stage.

The three-part play is about the life of mankind, centering on the seemingly perfect Antrobus family of the fictional town of Excelsior, New Jersey. Each act is set in a different time period, starting in the Ice Age and ending with a seven-year war. Although 22 people are in the cast, “with crew, I estimate there to be anywhere from 30 to 45 people [working on the play],” said Weightman, who plays the lead, Sabina.

Drama teacher and director Jim Peerenboom picked the play because he liked the questions and resonance he felt the play raised. “You see the same canon of plays being produced over and over again, so I like the idea of doing a classic that many have heard of, but few have actually seen,” he said. “While trying to select a script last year, two different people within the same week asked, ‘What about ‘The Skin of Our Teeth’? I took that as a sign that I should look at the script again, and once I did I knew it was going to be a great fit for our community. It brings up questions about loyalty and our purpose on this planet that still ring very true today.”

Alex Denman-Still, a sophomore doing tech for the play, said “We worked very hard [during practices]. There are even seven-hour bouts of practice on the weekends.”

Actors also put in a lot of work. Weightman attended practices after school every week for three hours at first, but sometimes ended staying at school until 10 p.m. “It’s worth it, though,” Weightman said. “It feels amazing to put so much work into something and see someone’s reaction to the final result.”