A play about high school students, written by high school students.

Seaside High School’s theater department is on a roll. So states its drama teacher River Navaille: “Winning two grants, securing a small theater space for next year, creating a video and website, taking students on field trips to see live theater, and staging three productions.”

One of those productions is an original play that the students wrote called On the Verge, billed as “a glimpse into the final steps of 11 high school seniors.”

There are moments of drama, and stretches of everyday stuff. There are interstitial narrative strands, and there are monologues. It’s earnest. The prom figures in as a plot key, but it also touches on Snapchat, bullying, alliances, being stressed out and pizza.

Jenaye Brelland, a sophomore, conceived the African-American character Tiana based on herself: “I think Tiana and I go through a similar situation of finding others to look up to in the media.”

Sophomore Jesebel Mamaclay states in an email that their play may seem like a “stereotypical teenage show,” but that the feelings are real: “The process was rigorous because it’s hard to put my feelings onto paper for everyone to see.”

Heliz Petrechen De Vilhena, a Brazilian exchange student and a senior, addresses internal conflicts through her character, Norah: “Everybody expected me to be a doctor, especially my family. I don’t wanna be a doctor, I wanna be a filmmaker, and accepting that and explaining it to my parents was difficult.”

Unless you have a teenager (who actually talks to you) or you are a teacher (who really listens), this play might be the most intimate invitation into the thoughts and lives of today’s teens you’re likely to receive.

ON THE VERGE runs 7pm Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19, outdoors at Seaside High School’s “Senior Steps” (see website for directions), 2200 Noche Buena St., Seaside. $5/student; $15/adult; no one turned away for lack of funds. seasidehighschooldramaticarts.com, @seaside.high.drama