Laughter erupted from Old Rochester’s auditorium on the evening of May 26 as the theater class put on their annual show. This year’s production, titled Scenes from Shakespeare II, included eight of the most famous scenes from all of Shakespeare’s works, with each scene set in a different time period from the 1940s on.
Kathleen Brunelle, an English teacher at ORR, teaches the class, which is a half-year elective taken during the school day. There was a total of 35 students on the class roster at the beginning of the semester, but the call to theater lured another 10 students – who happened to have a study during the theater class period and were looking for a creative outlet to break up the monotonous school day – to join the class.
The production boasted a class comprised of nearly 30 seniors and 15 underclassmen, including a few freshmen. Work on the show really began immediately after February vacation, and the students worked tirelessly from then until opening night to deliver the most entertaining evening they could.
As Brunelle said in her speech that opened the show, “They (the students) have the chance to take the magic in these words and deliver it to you.”
Students involved in this production thoroughly enjoyed the free nature of the class – the ability to take creative liberties and just be yourself and have fun, as explained by Jessica Keegan, who played Ophelia from Hamlet.
“We were all backstage and everybody loved everything that was happening,” said Keegan. “People were dancing and singing along in the back; it was just such fun.”
Grace Stevens, who played Sir Andrew from Twelfth Night, agreed.
“The best thing about it was all the parts where you could just be free and dance,” Stevens said.
For those who participate in the school’s Drama Club on top of the theater class, it was a welcome break from the normal tension experienced when putting on a Drama Club production.
Kaeli Peters, who played Narissa from The Merchant of Venice, said, “I’m in Drama Club, and everything there is high-end and sort of stressful, but being in theater, everything was very low key and we all just came together and made it as one big group of people and just had so much ridiculous fun doing it.”
By working together for months, theater allowed those who took the class to forge friendships that may not otherwise have formed with other students.
“I think everyone talked to people they normally wouldn’t have talked to. It brought a lot of people together,” said Paul Kavanagh, who played Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing and Percy from Henry IV.
Evan Portelance, who played Petruchio from Taming of the Shrew and Olivia from Twelfth Night, explained how his senior year has been a chance to get out of his comfort zone and try new things.
“I learned, throughout this past year, that I really don’t have a comfort zone,” said Portelance. “I was willing to try everything this year. After doing Mr. ORR with him (Paul Kavanagh), it kind of broke that barrier and made this show a whole lot easier.”
But overall, the students involved felt that opening night was easily the best part of joining theater class, as Timothy Schroeder, who played Don Pedro from Much Ado About Nothing described it.
“My favorite part was the creation of it all, the culmination of all our work tonight,” said Schroeder. “Everything was great – doing the dances, doing the scenes, adding props, adding costumes. Evan’s little flourishes here and there were hysterical, but seeing it all come together and knowing that nobody is going to mess up because of the adrenaline is great.” He added, “It’s the emotion behind everything that’s just perfect.”
As for the show itself, Brunelle stepped onto the stage at 7:00 pm to introduce the group and deliver a few opening remarks. Brunelle’s daughter also stepped out to share the pre-show spotlight and had a very special announcement to make: it was her 4th birthday. Upon hearing this news, the audience broke into song to wish the young girl a ‘happy birthday.’
After the mother-daughter duo left the stage, the lights dimmed and the audience fell silent with anticipation. The curtain opened to reveal a cutout of the DeLorean car from the classic movie Back to the Future. Marty McFly, played by Corynn Rinta, and Doc, played by Camryn Kidney, entered the stage and explained that Doc’s time machine would send them hurdling through time, all in iambic pentameter, of course.
From there, the audience was taken on a hilarious ride through time from the 1940s to present day. With each new decade came a new show. Scenes were included from The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, and Henry IV: Part I. Each scene also included a choreographed musical number.
But how did this idea come together in the first place? It all started with Brunelle, who came up with the concept last year when figuring out a way to demonstrate to the audience how entertaining Shakespeare can be. By including an array of different scenes, it allows an opportunity for every individual to shine as a lead.
It also eliminates the possibility of losing a lead to illness, or switching schools, or other outside factors. If everyone is a lead, it makes for an easier time trying to find a fill-in. Most importantly, however, Brunelle was hoping that this show would be fun for those involved and allow them time in their day to be creative and have fun, as she explained when discussing the goals of the class.
“I want them to come and have fun, and I want to show the audience that Shakespeare can be versatile,” said Brunelle. “We have some really serious scenes so you can see how beautiful Shakespeare can be, but also some funny scenes, because Shakespeare is actually very funny and people just don’t know that.” She added, “So that’s their job; to just have fun with it. Theater is an elective, so it’s meant to be a time during the day to be creative and have an outlet.”
Every good show includes artistic flourishes from the actors involved, and this production was no different. Many of the comical moments onstage originated as jokes between class members that ended up being incorporated in the final show.
The creation of this production was a group effort in which everybody gave their input and helped to change the show into something that everyone grew to love.
“We all pitched in ideas for what we should so,” said Portelance. “It’s Shakespeare, so you can do really whatever you want with it.”
With such a good track record from the ORR theater class, one can only wait to see the upcoming entertainment in store next year.
By Sienna Wurl