KINGSTON — Producing a play is a lot of work. But producing a musical is even harder. From set design, lighting, props, costume and makeup design, to acting, singing and stage blocking — the process, although rewarding, can be grueling at times.

The drama club at Kingston High School does all of this, in addition to breaking down the entire production each night after their two-hour rehearsal, transforming their “theater” space back to its daily function of the school commons area in time for lunch the next day.

While they love what they do, the student volunteers juggle this on top of their academics and other extracurriculars.

Why do they do it?

It’s for the love of the show.

The Kingston High School drama club presents “Little Shop of Horrors” in the high school commons at 7 p.m. Nov. 10-12, with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Nov. 13. Tickets are available at the school for $10, with proceeds funding future school performances.

The musical, with screenplay by Charles Griffith and music by Alan Menken, showcases main characters Seymour, Audrey and Mr. Mushnik as they struggle to keep a floral shop afloat on Skid Row. When Seymour brings a strange and exotic plant to the business, things start to turn around. But as residents of Skid Row begin disappearing and Seymour’s plant grows bigger, the protagonist struggles with continuing to seek fortune or doing the right thing.

Thirty-five students present this entertaining and humorous science-fiction musical thriller, working with Keenan Shionalyn, KHS math teacher and drama club adviser; and Rachel Flores, stop-motion special effects coordinator and school librarian.

The entire production, from the ground up, is the product of the student-run volunteers, who have donated more than 350 hours to the production.

The production seems to make the stage — and the plants — come alive by engaging the audience with dark and witty humor and creating their own original spin on the classic performance.

“We developed the characters from scratch,” Shionalyn said. “I asked the actors not to watch any other productions of the play so they could focus on how they fit in with the character … It brings ownership and empowers the actors to have fun because it’s theirs.”

Flores said building the production with a “from the ground up” mentality creates strength in the actor’s character, both on and off the stage.

“From creating our own Audrey II puppets, painting our sets, directing, managing, performing and practicing two hours a day, four days a week, for almost three months — this is a student-driven production,” Flores said. “And this show features the largest live pit orchestra ever seen at KHS created by our band students.”

While there is not an actual theater at KHS, through the help of grants and fundraising the students were able to turn their commons into a performance venue worthy of this show.

Flores said it’s more convenient for cast and crew than driving back and forth to North Kitsap Auditorium in Poulsbo.

“We’re hopeful that one day we might have our own theater space,” she said. “But that just depends on the student enrollment.”

Kingston High School, a relatively “new” campus built in 2008, is said to have “a second phase” planned when student enrollment reaches a certain level. But for now, students make do with the resources they have, including a budget of less than $800 — proceeds raised from the prior production.

“Proceeds from the play go right back in to fund the next show,” she explained.

Although the play works within the constraints of a small budget, the theatrical elements transform the modest high school lunch room into a busy flower shop on a dingy street in New York, captivating the audience through the use of creative lighting, original prop design and raw talent.

The giant Audrey II plant was created with PVC pipe, duct tape, jersey fabric, and a well from a previous production.

Student puppeteer Hanna Burgess operates the small Audrey II plant. Sitting under the shop counter with her arm through a hole, she works the puppet during of the first act. Although she said the experience can be tiring, it has been insightful to connect with the audience in that way.

“I can hear it when people laugh,” she said. “They enjoy looking at the puppet, they think it’s cute.”

In addition to skills honed in producing an entire play, Flores talked of the students’ teamwork.

“To see them really come together brings an emotion,” she said. “It’s a happy-heart-type feeling … It’s a family. It’s not just band and theater kids. We have athletes, academics, students who are part of the debate team … all coming together to make this work. It’s a wonderful thing to see every kid feel appreciated.”

She said Shionalyn’s tactic of pulling various students into the acting club is influencing the school in a positive way.

“That’s the beauty of it,” she said. “They’re connecting outside of the drama club, they’re having lunch together and branching into each other’s social circles.”

Sophie Maio is playing the lead role of Audrey. A typically shy person offstage, she said her role has helped give her confidence and empowered her to own her character.

“I just have to put Sophie aside and become Audrey,” she said. “The encouragement here makes me empowered to be in the show … We’ve taken the characters and made them our own by understanding the aspects of the characters. It makes it personal, presenting this in our own way.”

Ben Clifton, junior and head of costume and make-up design, was proud to show off his creative skills. It’s his first time on stage, and he successfully performs three costume changes in the second act.

“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had — and the most stressful thing I’ve ever done,” he said.

Janelle Baehr, Kit Ellsworth, Daphne Graham, and Esther Listle are the four lady doo-wop singers, making appearances throughout the play.

Baehr said the club is fortunate to have the talented students to help bring the show to life.

Ellsworth is the student director of the play.

“I’ve seen other productions at KHS, but this show especially we have strong singers and actors that are dedicated and have the talent to pull this off,” she said.

Graham, a senior at KHS, hopes to be a professional actor one day. This is her fourth performance at KHS, and she welcomed the hard work of building the production, as she said it gave her the skills to help catapult her to her dreams in the future.

“This particular show is pretty incredible,” she said.

“We have students directors and student stage managers. By doing the work for this production I’ve got a lot of experience under my belt. I have experience both on and off the stage; it really does create leadership.”

While Kingston High may never receive its own auditorium, one thing is certain — each production the students create builds character through teamwork.

From the ground up, it’s about the love of the show.