As the lights dimmed and characters came to life, Spartanburg High School students took on the classic play that is William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.” Being one of the most well-known plays, according to pnb.org, the production brought friends and families together while also allowing students to grow in their acting abilities.
Phineas Keller (11) is thankful to have played Romeo in the production because of the combat work that he learned.
“Shakespearean plays are a hard, interesting kind of play, teaching diction and projection, as well as getting used to things like stage kisses and stage combat,” Keller said. “There are so many good parts to the rehearsal and production process, but my favorite is messing around during things like the mic checks and chatting while we got ready.”
While audience members walked to their seats in the Spartanburg High School Fine Arts Center, the classical music set the scene and the stage greeted them, with many levels for actors to move across and water features. With a balcony, stairs and hidden passageways, the set made viewers feel as if they were truly in Verona, Italy. The costume design also brought the time period to life. To represent the different households, actors either wore red (the Montague family) or green (the Capulet family). The gold accents and 16th-century fashion allowed students to be in touch with their character and realistically perform.
Benjamin Dawkins, music and theater teacher at Spartanburg High School, directed the play and chose “Romeo and Juliet” to help students grow in their acting skills.
“I felt that it was a good opportunity for the school community and the theatre students. Shakespeare is truly challenging, and I feel that it is important to always challenge ourselves in all things,” Dawkins said. “Rehearsing and preparing a play is a difficult but rewarding process. It involves many hours of rehearsal and individual practice ranging from staging single scenes to running entire acts of the play. All in all, it is a lot of fun and is worth all the hard work.”
Students continuously worked to make the play the best it could be. Fighting against many struggles, including Shakespearean English, stage combat, playing both gender roles and learning how to create chemistry between the characters, the play took a while to come together. Students grew with each other, supporting and lifting each other up during the hard times.
Abigail Peuser (11), playing Lady Capulet, had a memorable experience and grew in her understanding of older plays.
“The rehearsals were long and learning the Shakespearean language took some time; but the cast and crew really felt like a family. It taught me how to handle emotionally heavy scenes and connect deeply with my character’s motivation. It also improved my understanding of classical dialogue and how to make older language feel real and relatable. I’d say my favorite memory will always be when we were either getting ready for a show or getting undressed after the show was over, we put on some fun music to cheer everyone’s mood up,” Peuser said.
A fall play has become one of the many traditions at Spartanburg High School, preparing students, families and sponsors for a great year in theater. In past years, the Spartanburg High School Viking Theater Company put on productions of “The Crucible,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The 12 Angry Jurors.” The fall plays also give students who are interested a glimpse of how the spring musicals are run. The Viking Theater Company is now preparing to produce “The Wizard of Oz.”
