Lawrence residents Cassandra Mogusar and Justin Riley, from left, are filmed and interviewed by members of the Lawrence Youth Ensemble, from left at center, co-director Michael Bradley; Rob Parker-Ortley, ninth-grade student at Southwest Junior High; Emily Reno, an eighth-grader at Central Junior High; and co-director Rachael Perry. After interviewing and filming area residents in several Lawrence neighborhoods, students in the group will write and perform a play about the stories they gathered.

It seems like everyone who lives in Lawrence understands its quirks and appreciates them.

So when the Lawrence Youth Ensemble received a grant to write a play with teenagers, members decided to write about the town’s neighborhoods based on the people who know them the best — the residents.

“We’ve been going out and have done interviews with people all over town,” said the ensemble’s co-director Rachael Perry. “We’ve gotten a wide variety of different fun stories.”

And while the directors of the ensemble might be leading the pack, it’s the kids who are asking the questions.

“They’re really open to all our questions,” said Emily Reno, an eighth-grader at Central Junior High. “(The hardest part is) probably choosing the best ones to put in there because I’m sure there will be a lot.”

Southwest Junior High ninth-grader Rob Parker-Ortley has become the group’s go-to interviewer. His peers say he has a knack for getting anyone to agree to do an interview.

“I just step forward and I ask away,” he said. “I don’t really hesitate at all because they’re just human beings.”

And while the interview process has been ongoing since December, it’s about time to start compiling what has been collected into a comprehensive play.

“I’m interested in what we come up with for the play,” Parker-Ortley said. “I’m interested and excited for what we come up with so many different stories.”

The group will performing its play “Home: On the Road” in various locations around Lawrence in June.