Shaker Middle School takes its social studies lessons one step further with a performance of “Tales of the Underground Railroad” last month.

“Then they got treated so unfairly, they got shipped off, they got whipped, and what I saw today was an example of that so I could see visually and it really helped me see how things would have been back then,” said student Emma Diaz.

The performance wrapped around the true story of local resident Solomon Northrup. He was freeborn, but then taken from the streets of Saratoga Springs and sold into enslavement. He later wrote the famous “Twelve Years a Slave.”

“The fact that he was kidnapped and drugged and then bought, basically, that just made me so sad and angry,” said student Kulsum Ahmad. “It was not okay.”

“I want kids to one, be curious. I think that’s the biggest thing. Curiosity. Like, curious enough to go back and want to read more of these stories. Go back and start questioning how did things happen. Why did things happen, right? Because if you know your history, then you know where you’re going in the future, And you can also be helpful in making change for the future, too. so that’s for me, just curiosity,” said actor Drew Drake.

It’s part of Capital Rep’s “On the Go” in-school performances. The actors play many parts.

“But then you can kind of ask yourself, what’s a story worth telling? and I think that Stephen Myers, Solomon Northrup, that whole thing is definitely worth telling and so if I can have a part in that, even if it’s one that’s a little uncomfy, I’m still down,” said actor Collin Purcell.

There was also a Q & A session and there was no shortage of questions from the Shaker students.

“When I heard it was near here, I was surprised. I heard about it, but I didn’t think it was near our area,” said student Emmy Toutoute.

The performance ties into the classwork, to help history come alive for the students.

“It most definitely brought it alive,” said teacher Jennifer Allard. “Yesterday we started talking about what do kids know about the Underground Railroad, so that we could help to make that connection with how are these rights that people wanted and deserved, where did they come from, and how did they obtain them, because each state had their own version of constitutions that protected rights.”

For the teachers, it’s about sparking interest.

“Make it as exciting as possible, make them realize there’s a connection, and there’s a connection here and to make them as excited and passionate about history as we can,” said teacher David Wallingford. “And then to understand what happened, understand what happened in the past in our own back yard, because it plays into today.”