Kaneland High School to stage 'Romeo and Juliet'
This weekend at Kaneland High School, it's all about star-crossed lovers, family feuds and sword fights when the theater department presents William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."
Performances are at 7 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20-22, at 47W326 Keslinger Road, Maple Park. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and senior citizens, and free to Kaneland students and staffers with ID.
The timeless story of forbidden love resonates, even in today's modern society.
"Falling in love, having family issues, wanting something you could never have … ... I mean sure, it might not be as extreme of a case, but when it comes down to it, they're still just teenagers," said Mason Jendruczek, who plays Romeo.
Sabrina Massa, who plays Juliet in the production, said that her favorite part about the story is that "it shows the uglier side of love that we often don't see, and it makes us appreciate each person we love a little more."
Sabrina and Mason are joined with a cast of 17 other talented students ranging in age and acting experience. Nicole DiSandro will be playing the nurse; Jarod Kovach pays Tybalt, and Patrick Murphy will be playing Lord Capulet and understudy to Romeo. Lindsay Mach is understudy to Juliet, Stephen Gannon plays Mercutio, and Julia Janis is understudy to Nurse.
The actors have put in many late hours rehearsing choreography with Paula Fransz and stage combat with Stanton Davis, instructors from Northern Illinois School of Theatre and Dance. The students are especially excited to be performing the fight scenes with real fencing swords.
Christina Staker, who directs the show, took time to answer a few questions for the Daily Herald.
Q. Why did you choose "Romeo and Juliet" for your fall play?
Christina Staker. In the past we have typically done a Shakespeare play every four years to allow the theater kids a chance to have experience performing Shakespeare while they are at Kaneland; however, we have always done Shakespearean comedies. I wanted to mix it up a little and try a tragedy. I also wanted to pick a play that the students study at some point in their English classes. That left me with "Hamlet," "Othello," and "Romeo and Juliet" to choose from. I felt that the majority of the students and community would be most familiar with the story of "Romeo and Juliet," and therefore perhaps it would make memorizing the Shakespearean text, as well as understanding it (as both an actor and an audience member) a bit easier.
Q. What have been some of the challenges in putting together this production?
Staker. Line memorization has been a huge challenge for the students. Shakespeare likes to throw in large monologues and soliloquies into his plays, which makes for a lot of Shakespearean text to try to memorize and understand. This slowed down our rehearsal process because we had to keep stopping to make sure the students understood what it was they were saying and where the proper inflection should go in the lines of text. Besides that, there were just multiple working parts to this play that we don't normally need to worry about with our fall plays. This show required choreography and stage combat, which meant additional hours of rehearsal.
Q. What has been the most rewarding?
Staker. It is always rewarding to see a student who has been struggling with their role finally have everything click into place. When the stage lights hit them that first time, they suddenly find the character and emotion they have been struggling to grasp and it is absolutely amazing to witness.
Q. What do you think audiences will like about this show? Or what do you think will be their favorite part or scene?
Staker. Their favorite part will most likely be the sword fighting. We are using real fencing swords, so it will add to the suspense and believability of the scenes. I believe this is my cast members' favorite part about the play as well.
Tickets and more details are available online.
If you go
What: Kaneland High School's production of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"
When: 7 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. (understudy performance) and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20-22
Where: Kaneland High School, 47W326 Keslinger Road, Maple Park
Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for students senior citizens and free to Kaneland students and staffers with ID.
Details: <a href="http://web.kaneland.org/content/khs-theatre-department-presents-romeo-and-juliet">kaneland.org</a>/