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The two casts of The Point Theater’s “12 Angry Jurors” got the chance to visit a real courtroom and jury deliberation room and learned more about what it’s like to be a real juror in the courtroom.
According to a news release, both casts of The Point Theater’s “12 Angry Jurors,” went to Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center and met with Superior Court Judge David Najjar and employment litigation attorney Paul Sweeney.
The visit gave the teenagers an opportunity to feel what their characters would experience if they were a juror in a murder case in Hamilton County.
They were shown the courtroom and allowed to sit in the jury box and were instructed to sit according to their jury numbers in the play.
They were able to ask Najjar and Sweeney questions and were shown where the witnesses would sit, where the attorneys might stand during questioning and how a jury is chosen.
Then, they were led to the jury deliberation room, where they rehearsed their show.
The visit was made possible through sponsorship from Ice Miller Legal Counsel.
For Claire Moeller, 13, this was her seventh show with The Point. She plays Juror #5, who is easily intimidated by stronger members on the jury.
“It gave me insight into what a juror’s job is really like and how to decide if someone is guilty or innocent. It also helped me learn the process of what an actual juror does,” Moeller said in a news release.
Dylan Howard, 16, plays Juror #12, who works for an advertising agency and is the only juror whose vote sways from innocent to guilty several times throughout the play.
“I was surprised at how small the jury room actually was. It put me in the jurors’ shoes and helped me understand what they would have been going through,” Howard said in a news release.
The play will have its opening night at The Cat in Carmel on Sept. 29 and run until Oct. 1. There are four shows. The Oct. 1 show is sold out.
After its show dates, the play will be touring local schools with attorneys to answer questions about the case depicted in the play.
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