Drama III class presents “All The World’s A Stage”
Mark Antony (Logan Gray) preparing to read Caesar’s will to anxious Roman citizens.
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” -William Shakespeare
On Friday, Feb. 16, students packed in the auditorium during second block for All the World’s A Stage, put on by the Drama III class. This is the first of three plays that will be performed for the school during second semester. Each six weeks, there will be a new play.
The play began at 10:20 a.m. and ran for 43 minutes. It was a “Shakespearean sampler,” and included scenes from Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Pericles, Henry V, Henry VIII, As You Like It, and The Tempest.
When not wearing costumes made by the THS drama department, cast members could be seen in tee shirts that had famous Shakespeare lines on them.
The cast included juniors Camron Beale, Hannah Rich, Laura Scearce, and Emily Wilkerson. The seniors were Gia Bucchi, Allison Dickens, Austin Edwards, Katie Gray, Logan Gray, McKenzie Hill, Chris Lawrence, Brian Nguyen, and Ava Wood.
Senior Devin Brittingham worked backstage with the lights and sound, while senior Alex Warner was the set design/technical director and senior Jenna Lusk was the costume/props manager.
“I made all of the props in the prop box and a few other ones around the stage. I also placed all of the tape so the actors would know where to stand,” said Warner.
“It’s been fun because I like working with technology,” said Brittingham.
The play began with prologues spliced from Pericles, Henry V, and Henry VII. Throughout the play, the most famous scenes from Shakespeare’s works were performed, such as the drunk porter scene from Macbeth and the stabbing of Julius Caesar. Wilkerson was the “host” and gave interesting facts about Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre while trying to not be interrupted by Jacques, from As You Like It, played by Dickens. The epilogue was from The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The most prominent element in the play was humor. There were some lines that were intended to be funny, while other lines were funny simply because of the way they were delivered by actors who have a dry sense of humor. Even if students in the audience were not familiar with a play, such as A Midnight Summer’s Dream, they were still able to crack up at Beale appearing on stage in a donkey mask. Although the script included humorous lines, many of the jokes were a result of actors’ improvisation.
“During the rehearsals, we went by the script, but the show today was a lot of improv,” said Nguyen.
For some Drama III students, performing a play was new experience for them.
“This is the first time I’ve acted in front of a bunch of people besides the class,” said Bucchi.
Bucchi’s favorite role she played was second citizen.
“It’s so much fierceness in one role that’s not even named,” she said.
Edwards’ favorite role he played was Hamlet.
“I got to yell and I find yelling funny,” he said.
The new curriculum for Drama III class has just been put in place, but it has already sparked an interest in students for theatre beyond high school.
“If I have the opportunity to take an extra curricular course in college, I will take a drama class,” said Bucchi.
“I will definitely participate in drama club in college or maybe [pursue it] as my minor,” said Edwards.
The Drama III class is already preparing for their next play, which will be performed during the second six weeks.
“It was so much fun. I can’t wait for the next one because it’s going to be even better,” said Lusk.
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