The bodies lie lifeless on the floor. They are lumps of flesh. Later, they will move in the most extraordinary ways. But for now, they are among the unborn. Indeed, the yet-to-be created.

The time is before things crawled on all fours, before things stood and walked. When, in the realm of creation, all was still.

And that is the remarkable part — the stillness — because, in real time, this is not the primordial soup. It is the Bangor High School theatrical production of “The Serpent,” by Jean-Claude Van Itallie.

Note then that means 32 motionless teens. Their eyes focused, their minds engaged.

They are happy, in fact, to be so still because the play is the thing.

And even more than happy, this dedicated group of hard workers is proud.

Last month, they took their show to the state high-school theater competitions, held annually by the Maine Principals Association, and won first place in Division 1. Later this month, they will travel to Amherst, N.H., to join 12 other theater groups from high schools in New England, all of which are presenting award-winning, one-act productions.

In the meantime, the Bangor students are rehearsing with director and theater instructor Carlene Hirsch. They are tightening the show for the New Hampshire event, but they are also preparing for a benefit performance Wednesday which they hope will draw a large crowd and help pay for the trip. Several businesses in the area have made donations to the theater program to help defray costs, but taking nearly three dozen kids on an overnight field trip means more money than almost any drama program in the state could put up.

Onstage at Peakes Auditorium, the high school’s theater, the students take instruction from Hirsch, a short woman with a big voice.

“OK, critters, let’s run that scene again. Matt, I need to hear the `T’ on the end of `not,’ ” she calls to them, and takes her seat in the first row of the hall. The scene unfolds, and Hirsch gives a thumbs up to Matt when he audibly spits the `T’ out.

“I never in a million years thought I could get them to do the things I’ve asked them to do,” whispers Hirsch. “Adolescence is tough, and it’s hard to leave your ego out on a limb. But these kids have done it.”

Hirsch is referring to the difficult material in “The Serpent.” Written in 1969, the play is an abstract, existential piece that traces the development of human consciousness and aggression. Or, as theatergoer and senior Ben Robertson describes, “The play explores a variety of themes, not the least of which is man’s fear of accepting responsibility for the faults of society.”

The action of the play begins in the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve’s transgression, then moves on to the first murder when Cain kills Abel. The show progresses quickly to the 20th century, including scenes such as the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as vignettes about the social concerns of the 1960s.

Onstage percussionists and a saxophonist provide live music. Often, the actors pound the wooden floor with their feet or hands for additional effect. They also use their voices and bodies to create whales, dragons, frogs, alligators and the serpent. Except for scaffolding, the only props are an apple and a scarf. The actors all wear a variety of dance or athletic clothes, and the scenes range from silent to noisy, from cluttered to stark. And when it is time to be silent and still, the actors unflinchingly freeze.

In the six weeks of after-school rehearsals, Hirsch guided the troupe through imagery exercises to help develop characters. They studied the movements of animals and tried to understand how their own young lives connected with Adam and Eve’s or Kennedy’s or King’s.

“Through Ms. Hirsch yelling at us, coaxing us, and praising us, we became a garden,” says cast member Lyz Teixeira, a senior.

“I can’t believe how much she trusted us,” adds junior Molly McLean.

But trust is big with Hirsch, a graduate of the University of Maine, whose background is in theater and special education. A native of Presque Isle, Hirsch also worked on the Maine-based films “Pet Sematary,” “Graveyard Shift” and “Creep Show II.”

And respect is paramount.

“I told them at the beginning that they needed to respect each other the way they respect me,” Hirsch explains. With a laugh she adds, “We had some problems in this area, but they worked themselves through for the betterment of everybody. But every little time, every little moment that worked, I let them know it worked. I’d say, `Look what you’ve done.’ ”

Hirsch never told her students what she thought the play was about. Rather, she had them focus on the cyclical nature of aggression and its effect on humanity. They discussed their thoughts, questioned the process and built character — in more than one way.

“She’s definitely hard,” says senior Alison Manowski, who plays Eve. “I’ve learned so much about the theater. And Ms. Hirsch has taught me a lot personally.”

“I take her class, and she talked to me every day about getting into the show until I gave in,” says Fred Moore, a senior who is also a wide receiver for the football team. “Not being in this crowd and then letting myself be a part of this crowd is not as bad as it seemed. Fitting in isn’t a problem.”

Hirsch says that teens are dying for real direction and involvement in something they can trust and belong to. She wanted to give them that in a theater experience. From the getgo, Hirsch let the students know who she was and what she expected.

“I speak to them in a real sense,” she says. “Teachers are not supposed to impose their moral nature but, in some real sense, it is expected of us. So I make sure that before I give an opinion, they know who I am and what I’m about. I am always honest, so they are honest with me. I set my boundaries and they know them.”

On a recent trip to Portland, where Hirsch took a group of students to see a touring production of “Evita,” she allowed them to call her by her first name for the day. Once they were back at school, however, she was Ms. Hirsch again.

“It was a big treat for them,” she says, but not one that they or she felt comfortable with in the school setting.

The biggest treat for “The Serpent” cast was the response of the student body, which saw the play before it went to competitions, and then participated in a question-and-answer session. During the performance, when the actors expected to be heckled by their friends, the auditorium was silent. The students in the audience were captivated. For each performance, the cast got a standing ovation. And many Bangor High students followed the troupe to Millinocket, where the state competition was held.

“I’ve heard people say that it brought our school to a higher level,” says Aimee Coltart, a junior.

And although motionlessness may be one of the remarkable aspects of the show, this is the kind of project intensity that gets high-school kids moving.

“The Serpent” will be performed 7:30 p.m. April 12 at Bangor High School’s Peakes Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students.