With at least one cast member born around the time of WATERFORDrama’s inception 14 years ago, director Shane Valle says he isn’t sure if it’s fully sunk in yet for students that they’re about to produce the group’s 50th show.

“It certainly has for me, having been here for 14 years. We’ve grown into something much bigger than when we started,” Valle said between rehearsals of “The Complete History of America (abridged),” a whirlwind of history, politics and laughs that gives audiences a lesson on “600 years of American history in 6,000 seconds.”

Valle’s nine-cast team will perform the play, originally produced by the Reduced Shakespeare Company in the early 1990s, Feb. 1 through Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Waterford High School Auditorium.

Beginning with Amerigo Vespucci and taking the audience to the present day, the play is “a good old fashioned comedy,” said Valle, that’s light, funny, informative and engaging for audience members, with moments of improvisation for his actors who will “have to be able to adapt on the fly.”

“There’s a lot of funny stuff,” he said, noting the script was flexible enough to let him add in more modern references. “The actors on stage play themselves giving a history lecture, and then other times play a character from American history.”

Valle said his team is a good mix of seasoned WATERFORDrama veterans and newcomers who’ve all been rehearsing amid snowstorms and upcoming exams.

“They’ve been working hard and having a lot of fun,” he said.

While acknowledging it was WATERFORDrama’s 50th show, senior Jonathan Dryden-Jaffe, 17, said he was “treating it like every other show.”

“They’re all just as important,” he said, crediting Valle and the group for teaching him skills since he was a freshman that he hopes to use in his study of film in college.

Dryden-Jaffe said the play breaks the fourth wall a good bit, adding “the audience is going to have a great time and be a part of it. Shane picked a great show that allows us to try stuff and move out of our comfort zones.”

Murphy Ryan, a 15-year-old freshman, said the play will be her first with WATERFORDrama.

“It’s been such a good experience. I’m having the time of my life,” she said. “It’s a small cast, and we all really work well together. Shane’s direction is so clear, and to watch his ideas come to life is a privilege.”

Ryan, who in addition to herself plays James Madison and other figures, added that her knowledge of history has grown from the story, which she said would be enjoyable for all ages.

She added that the significance of being the group’s 50th show wasn’t lost on her.

“When I was little I took some acting classes, but I always knew when I was going to Waterford High School that (drama) is a big deal and I wanted to get involved,” she said.

In addition to Dryden-Jaffe and Ryan, the cast features Dominic Bruno, Alicia Hensley, Sophia Kasem-Beg, Michael Macesker, Timothy McCabe, Katharine Robillard and Lily Watson.

Tickets are on sale during school hours at Waterford High School. Advanced sale tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for students.

Tickets purchased at the door are $15 for adults and $10 for students.

To reserve tickets, call 860-437-6956, extention 7407. Seating is limited.

b.kail@theday.com