The satirical comedy “Greater Tuna” about life in rural America will be performed under Director Rick Mokler for his last and 21st year at City College.

The play “Greater Tuna” focuses on the daily lives of people in the fictional small town of Tuna, Texas.

The play, originally written by Jayston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard, is the first in a series of four comedic plays that explores stereotypes of Texans.

“The play pokes fun at the hillbilly mentality and Southern life,” said Mokler, the department’s production chair and director of the play. “It’s just a fun, satirical comedy that’s really accessible to students.”

The original play premiered in Austin, Texas in 1981 and required Williams and Sears to play 21 roles, with Howard directing.

Williams, who portrayed ten characters, and Sears, who played 11, dedicated most of their professional lives to those roles.

Mokler, has directed this play five or six times already, but added a fresh outlook this time around.

For his last production, he decided to transform the play into a student workshop, where 21 actors could each have a role.

In his time with City College, Mokler has directed 51 plays, including Picasso at the Lapin Agile. He has also taught at high schools for around 17 years.

“The kids can get their feet wet in a play that’s really fun and low-budget,” Mokler said. “And since it’s my last play [with City College], I get to work with students that I might not have worked with before.”

The workshop features Bliss Beasley and Ryan Baumann as the two main characters in “bold comedic performances,” said Mokler.

Baumann is a second level student in the Theatre Arts Department, and Beasley is enrolled in an advanced theater class. She has also starred in other plays the school has produced.

Beasley and Baumann play two radio disk jockeys, who are “the thread that tie all the characters together,” Mokler said.

Throughout the play, the characters explore typical Southern stereotypes, a quality that makes it unique from most plays the school produces, Mokler said.

The play is also very low-budget, meaning elaborate set designs are excluded from the production.

“Get there early,” Mokler said. “It’s going to be pretty high-demand.”