NORTHFIELD — Join the Pioneer Valley Regional School theater program this weekend as students explore the twisting relationships of “This Changes Everything.”

In the 2015 play by Joel Horwood, a group of young women who are fed up with living on the mainland have created The Community, a new form of society set on a platform at sea, with a promise of better living. However, not long after characters Alva, Kim and Klara arrive, cracks begin to form, as the group’s leadership and principles are challenged.

The public is invited to two showings of “This Changes Everything” on Friday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23, each at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5.

Eighth grader Sophia Wood, who is playing Basic Jane, and freshman Mariah Renaud, who is playing Henri, said “This Changes Everything” is about the personal dynamics between the women within The Community and it is a work ripe with subtle, but important moments.

“There’s a bunch of relationships that form. … I think [the audience needs] to pay very close attention to detail because everything is connected,” Wood said, with Renaud adding, “There’s a lot of things, little small interactions happening on the side of the stage that you might miss that are important.”

Director Brian Campbell said he chose “This Changes Everything” because it provides a rare opportunity in theater to put female students first, who often have to play men when taking on works from another generation. The play is provided through Platform, a United Kingdom-based theater initiative promoting new plays featuring young women.

“Their main selling point is that they create plays with large or all-female casts in mind. This is especially important, as many drama programs face the challenge of having female actors play male roles, with those roles often being more prominent,” Campbell explained. “This company, however, offers the opportunity to give women the representation they deserve, reflecting the reality of our population.”

Campbell also praised his cast’s ability to handle these complex roles and likened the themes in the play to two of the standout novels most students will come across in middle and high school.

“I feel like it’s kind of a mixture between ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Lord of the Flies.’ ... There’s themes of power and control,” Campbell said. “Something I’m really proud of is because of the strength of all of them, but especially [Wood and Amelia Hescock], we kind of invented this whole story that’s not said in any of the script. … It’s been great to see these two create this narrative through just their actions.”

As cracks begin to form within The Community, Oliver Heydenreich and other students said the play turns into a sort of emotional roller coaster as the plot moves forward.

“There’s a certain air of desperation that grows as the play goes on,” Heydenreich said, “and I think it’s really fun to capture that.”

While The Community seems to be showing cracks in “This Changes Everything,” Nia Barton, a freshman taking on the role of Malin, said Pioneer’s growing theater program is a chance to build up the school community.

“You get to make new relationships in character and also out of character,” Barton said. “Going to rehearsals and figuring out all of the little details and ins and outs of the play is really nice to do.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.