The Fernie Academy Players brought seven of Shakespeare's classic tales to the stage this month. Academy students proudly presented their third annual “Night of Shakespeare”, highlighting the arts forms of comedy and tragedy. This year's playbill included “A Midsummer's Night Dream”, “Julius Ceaser”, “Romeo and Juliet”, Macbeth”, “Taming of the Shrew”, and “The Tempest”.
Students at The Academy begin studying Shakespeare early in their academic careers and this performance showcases both their knowledge and acting skills. The Grade four to seven students were given the chance to audition for different roles and learn about Elizabethan theatre, history, and culture during the rehearsal process.
“The beauty of Shakespeare is that although his words may be centuries old, his plays still shine through and connect to modern day audiences. He was a master at capturing the human experience through writing,” said Denise Baughan, one of the directors. “This has been an interesting process for the students to master such challenging text and concepts at such a young age, but all the performers have stepped up to the plate and have really committed to this project.”
The students worked hard to create an entertaining night full of laughter, tears, and music, but none of it would have been possible without the guidance of drama teachers Dagny Lentz, Karla Hein, and Denise Baughan, and music teacher Alison Pace.
The shows took place on Monday, April 7 and Tuesday, April 8 at the Catholic Hall.