BROOKINGS — God forbid you should be having a meal at a café and a man sitting at a nearby table dies at the same time his cell phone comes to life. Should you answer it? In Brookings Community Theatre’s production of ”Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” Jean (Halie Wilson) does — and that’s when the action begins.

“In the course of that, she starts telling little white lies to all the people that are affected by his loss,” explained director Mike Thompson, as he produces what is BCT play No. 11 for him. He added that Jean had no “nefarious intent or any reason like that; it’s just to make (people) feel better about the fact that he’s gone because he was not a model citizen as it were.

“She didn’t know him either; but she makes up this whole convoluted story that she knew him and worked with him. It’s quite a tangled web they weave.”

This is a small production, with a cast of three men and four women. And Thompson sees it fitting well into the smaller setting of the Fishback Studio Theatre, one piece of the much larger Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center.

“This is a much more intimate venue,” he explained. “There’s lots of emotion that gets played out right center-stage. So if you’re seated in the front row, you’re going to be right in the middle of the emotion that plays out between Jean and Stu.”

“Stu” is Stuart Melby, one of the stalwarts of BCT. It’s been a few years since he’s livened up the BCT boards. In this production he’s still in the land of the living — sort of — in the role of Gordon, the unfortunate gent who dies while eating in a café.

Thompson said that after reading the script, he “has a vision of of what he wants the play to look like after having read the script.” In turn, he wants his vision to coalesce with the interpretation that each actor brings to their character.

“But I also want it to jive with my vision of what I want,” he explained. “That’s always been the struggle for me but it seems to work out.”

As to what this play is all about? “I would say it’s a dramady,” the director said with a laugh. “It’s listed as a comedy; there’s some quirky one-liners. A lot of the facial expressions and the body language that you see on the actors would indicate it’s a comedy. But it’s definitely a dramatic theme.”

Back to Brookings

While it’s been a few years since Melby, 71, has been on the BCT stage, he hasn’t been inactive in the world of local-area theatre. He’s been in productions in Watertown; Sioux Falls; and Lake Benton Pipestone and Marshall, all in Minnesota.

He’s been in a total of more that 50 plays over about 22 years. And now why back to Brookings?

“I was interested in a part that didn’t need a loudmouthed, boisterous, doofus kind of character, which I’m kind of known for playing,” Melby said, with a smile. He added, “My body size isn’t important and it’s a serious role.

‘There’s some slight humor to the whole play. It comes and goes. And it’s an acting challenge. It’s not the whole big lead, which is kind of nice. It’s not as stressful.”

This is a two-act play; Melby doesn’t come to life, in a manner of speaking, until the curtain goes up on act two, when he delivers a life-to-death monologue. He’ll return later for a dialogue with Jean.

In many of its productions, BCT offers new actors the opportunity to join the troupe and walk the boards; two of the four women’s roles are going to newcomers: Taylor Lauters plays Hermia and Esther Klingbile plays the “other woman.”

Lauters, 25, explained that some of her friends had been in BCT productions and “had a fantastic time. It’s been some time since I was in theater in high school; I thought I’d try it again.

She’s a transplant from Hawarden, Iowa, and attended South Dakota State University, majoring in computer science. She did a bit of acting in “Capers.”

As Hermia, she’s Gordon’s widow and a “plot device.” She gets to have dinner with his family.

Klingbile was born in Brookings and has spent her whole life here. She’s a sophomore at Brookings High School. While she’s a BCT rookie, she brings some acting experience to the role: “I’ve done shows in my freshman year. I’m in a musical now — ‘The Addams Family.’”

“It’s a little nerve-wracking,” she said of her BCT debut and the older actors she’s working with. She’s confident, adding that she’ll “come through.”

N.B. “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” is for “Mature Audiences: language and adult themes.”

Showtime: Curtain up is 7 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 28), Friday (Sept. 29), Saturday (Sept. 30) and Sunday (Oct. 1 at 2 p.m.)

Tickets are: $17 for adults; $15 for seniors and students. Available at The Cove, 1455 6th St; on line, log on to Brookings Community Theatre, tickets; and at the door, one hour before curtain up. And for the audience: Ensure that your cell phones are turned off or in the vibrate mode. It’s showtime!

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookings register.com.