The Drama Club presented its fall production, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8. The cast of 12 students from all grades portrayed the true story of Anne Frank as her family hid from the Nazis during their occupation of the Netherlands during World War II.

The Drama Club council decided to perform a serious show for the fall production. Senior and Drama Club director Summer Ward of Oceanport chose “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

“I just thought it was really impactful, so we decided to go with it,” Ward said.

This was the first CHS production for many cast members, including sophomore Bella Carmona-Ramirez of Long Branch, who acted as the play’s lead, Anne Frank.

“I have a lot of things similar with Anne, so it felt really easy to just connect with her,” Carmona-Ramirez said.

Carmona-Ramirez said she prepared for her role by rehearsing her lines and remembering small details about the character. Senior Kevin Clark of Spring Lake, who portrayed Otto Frank, said his first major role brought unique challenges and he prepared in a similar way.

“I really had to work hard memorizing my lines because it was the first lead role that I ever had in a show,” Clark said.

Senior and tech director Clare Toman of Spring Lake Heights and junior and assistant tech director Michael Landolfi of Tinton Falls provided sound effects for the show and ensured that the production’s audio ran smoothly.

“It’s mostly just getting all those sound effects down and knowing what we need to do and when,” Toman said.

Junior Vaughn Battista of Tinton Falls attended and enjoyed the show, and intends to see future productions.

“I enjoyed it,” Battista said. “I think they pulled off the story well.”

Both cast and crew viewed the show as an overall success, including senior and Drama Club producer Kelly Forrester of Spring Lake Heights.

“I think the show was a success,” Forrester said. “Everybody that came really liked it, and that makes it a success in my eyes.”