Creating a Humorous Shakespeare Performance

We had the opportunity to swing by the Black Box during Kera Wright's 7th/8th Grade Play Production class. Inside, roughly two dozen students sit in a semicircle reading various lines from a play entitled How to Survive Being in a Shakespeare Play. 

"I chose this play after seeing the class list because all of these kids are natural-born comedians, so I wanted to do something that showcases their abilities, but also had a little bit of depth to it," explains Wright. This is the first time this play will be seen on stage at Overlake.

Many of Overlake's productions are the result of actual classes held during an academic block. Beyond the academic focus of these arts classes, holding them during the school day limits the after-school rehearsal time needed and allows students opportunities to be involved in other co-curricular activities outside of the school day.

"I am new here as an eighth grader, and this is actually the first play I have done," explains Zoe G. on why she decided to sign up for the class. "I also have friends taking this class," she adds.

Other students we spoke to have already experienced an Overlake theater production. We spoke with seventh grader Fernando A. E. "I did the All-School Musical last year, and I really enjoyed it, and I thought I could meet new eighth graders and other kids."

The class block we witnessed happened to be one of the days the students were holding auditions. Either breaking into pairs or going solo, these students showed poise and courage as they transformed into various Shakespearean characters before their attentive classmates.

You can see the fruits of their labor starting with a Friday evening performance on November 7th at 7:30 and a Saturday matinee at 2:30 on November 8th.