Two members of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater Company came to Paint Branch on Thursday, April 24th, to conduct a multi-period workshop for 9th grade students. In the workshop, which consisted of the same activities for each class period, students had the opportunity to warm up like professional actors, hurl some Shakespearean insults, and create a story based on only a few mixed lines from the Bard’s many plays. The two members from the theater company taught the kids how to loosen up and how to form a story and perform it so you don’t look like a robot set on autopilot.

On Friday, April 25th, the company returned with an entire cast to put on a production of Romeo and Juliet, which corresponded with the play 9th graders were to begin reading soon. .

The cast, which consisted of Stephanie LaVardera as Juliet and Garrad Alex Taylor as Romeo, brought the story of the star-crossed lovers to life. The audience seemed to enjoy the performance and especially liked the relationship between Romeo and Juliet

Even with strong comedic acting by Vince Eisenson, who portrayed Romeo’s boisterous friend Mercutio, and Kecia A. Campbell, who played Juliet’s nurse, the tragic love story still stuck to the lines set by Shakespeare.

The cast was very interactive with the audience, which included students sitting both on the stage and in the auditorium seats. Both Mercutio and Romeo interacted with the audience, with Romeo sitting in the crowd for the balcony scene and Mercutio tapping an audience member on the head at one point. Cast members communicated well with each other and brought a lively element to the long play.

Ninth-grade English teacher and Perspectives director Ms. Amber Perkins, who was the driving force behind this enriching experience for ninth graders, said, “The hard work it took to make this experience come to fruition was completely worth it.”

Though most students were respectful and enjoyed the experience, some students, including some who sat on the stage, still have some work to do as live performance audience members. Ms. Perkins commented, “Each 9th grade teacher tried to teach audience etiquette prior to the performance but, with the show being in our auditorium, the decorum that would naturally follow when in a theater space foreign to them was not really possible. We were happy with how everything turned out, and the performers were ecstatic with the enthusiasm of the crowd.”

Ultimately though, the performance of the actors was what stood out most as they brought one of Shakespeare’s most famous tales to life. Ashley Kripowicz, a ninth grader and a member of Perspectives, said, “the play was great. The actors and actresses involved the audience by walking through the house, looking right at them, even talking to them and making them feel more immersed in the play. I would say it helped the audience have a better understanding of Shakespeare’s work.”