In the auditorium on Nov. 16 and Nov.17 at 7:30 p.m, and on Nov. 18 at 3 p.m, months of work will finally culminate as the thespians will present the newest school theater spectacle: the William Shakespeare’s classic, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” 

Led by Ms. Jennifer Alexander, the director of theater arts, this group of actors features a host of experienced upperclassmen, sprinkled with a few younger talents; the stage is set for a compelling performance. 

Both the cast and the crew have prepared hours a day for quite some time, making sure that details are satisfied and that everything will run smoothly come Nov. 16. 

Senior J.J. Lay, an experienced crew member, explains the amount of work that he and his fellow classmates have put in behind the scenes. “The show is a blast to work on; it’s great to see everything start coming together after a while. We’ve been working on the set for the past four weeks every day after school,” he said. 

Constructing an intricate set that best depicts the various scenes in the play is no small task. It takes a multitude of students to finish the job on schedule. Perhaps not many people can ever fully appreciate how integral the crew’s work is to the end result, since their roles are quite different and less in the public eye than those of the cast members. 

Nevertheless, any thespian will tell you that their effort is essential and should not go unnoticed.

On the other side of the performance, the cast has practiced and worked to perfect its characters in preparation. Lines must be memorized, scenes must be rehearsed and costumes must be arranged. 

Senior Mary Kate Temple, who plays one of the lead roles, elaborates on this particular performance. “This is the first Shakespearean play I have acted in before. The language is very different than modern day English, so it is difficult to understand and display. We have had many rehearsals to decipher the text and fully understand it so we can act it out.” 

Memorizing and performing lines in a dialect that is centuries old certainly comes with its challenges, making their workload even more intense as they strive to portray Shakespeare’s characters properly. “This is a smaller cast than the musical, so it is a tight knit group of people. We started rehearsals at the beginning of October,” Temple said. “I am very excited for this show and I can’t wait for people to finally see it.” 

As Nov. 16 approaches, the final details are smoothed over in rehearsals, and the set is pulled together. Under Alexander’s guidance, the end result that started months ago with auditions is now just days away.