Nearly nine months have passed since the start of the pandemic, leaving drama students without much of an outlet to apply their talents and express themselves through theater. Drama instructor and theater director Thomas Drago said this is what made An Evening of Shakespeare, the school’s winter production, such a rewarding experience—the show allowed students to climb back into the saddle of performing.
An Evening of Shakespeare—the school’s first-ever virtual production—debuted on December 3 and featured a collection of monologues, scenes, songs and set designs from Shakespeare’s many creations, allowing theater, theater tech and band students all to collaborate.
Drago said that he chose Shakespeare because of how “accessible” the artist’s works are.
“[Shakespeare’s] content, his themes, and his archetypes are universal,” he said. “The stories that he would be telling 400 years ago still relate to our modern times.”
Originally, Drago hoped to present An Evening of Shakespeare as a live-stream through YouTube or Google Meet. However, because of the potential for technical difficulties, he chose to pre-record the performance and upload it to the Hanes Theatre website so that families could watch it on their own time.
Freshman performer Walker Smith described the event as a “new and unique experience.” He noted how different the recording process was and how he felt less pressure to get his lines perfect.
“If one was to mess up on a line, they can simply do another take,” Smith said. “In normal circumstances I would be getting more frantic as opening night approached. Now, I can simply enjoy the show instead of having to perform live.”
Stitching together the performances into one cohesive piece was done by senior Margaret Stoffregen, who also performed the “Song of the Witches” from Macbeth and served as stage manager and student director.
“Everyone who had a performance piece sent them to me, and I put them all together,” Stoffregen explained. “I will say it took me way more time than I had expected, but I’d absolutely say it was worth it.”
In addition to the monologues and sonnets, An Evening of Shakespeare included multiple musical accompaniments directed by John Carmichael. Stoffregen said the Tiger Brass Quintet performed “carols, motets, and other works from 16th century Britain, some of which Shakespeare and his contemporaries might have been familiar with.”
Theater tech students also provided their artistic designs for costumes and scenes from popular works like Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.
One particularly notable inclusion came from sophomore Hyemin Im, who presented a costume design for characters from Romeo and Juliet in the form of the traditional Korean ceremonial outfit known as the hanbok.
Smith praised the work of the technical crew: “A show cannot run without a crew behind it, so it was good to see them receive some recognition,” he said.
While An Evening of Shakespeare was the first virtual performance produced by the theater department, it will not be the last. Drago said that a future virtual performance would take the form of a full-length play and include castings and auditions.
Drago also noted that theater is an important outlet for students given the circumstances of the pandemic and remote learning.
“Theater gives us a unique way to engage and connect that we might not otherwise be able to do while attending school through our laptops.” Drago said. “For many, this is the best, if not the only, social and emotional support available right now.”
Drago said he would also explore other staging techniques like “using split screens and green screens, adding costumes and props, and scoring with music, if we can access and learn the technology.”
An Evening of Shakespeare, as well as the full cast list, can be viewed on the Hanes Theatre website: https://sites.google.com/site/hanestheatre/
