SHAKESPEARE HAS KIDS SEEING GREEN IRISH TWIST FOR `ROMEO AND JULIET'.Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer VALENCIA - Two conflicts, both alike in tragedy, will come together on the Valencia High School Valencia High School may refer to:
In the spring production of ``Romeo and Juilet,'' director and theater arts teacher Stephen Whelan has transposed trans·pose v. trans·posed, trans·pos·ing, trans·pos·es v.tr. 1. To reverse or transfer the order or place of; interchange. 2. the Shakespearean tale of young love poisoned by social conflict from 15th century Verona to a 1970s Northern Ireland Northern Ireland: see Ireland, Northern. Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupying the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. Area: 5,461 sq mi (14,144 sq km). Population (2001): 1,685,267. reeling from ``The Troubles.'' It was a time when violence between Catholic and Protestant hard-liners escalated into street riots and car bombings. ``I always feel when directors set it in a period that's arbitrary, you can see right through it,'' he said. ``I don't want to do something gimmicky gim·mick n. 1. a. A device employed to cheat, deceive, or trick, especially a mechanism for the secret and dishonest control of gambling apparatus. b. An innovative or unusual mechanical contrivance; a gadget. .'' The play, which opens March 17, won second place for outstanding scene at Chapman University's 29th annual Henry Kemp Blair Shakespeare Tournament. Whelan, whose father is Irish, said the idea came together during a family gathering last year. The production also pays homage to his grandmother. ``She was the most Irish person I know,'' he said. ``When she was growing up (in Boston) in the turn of the century, she couldn't play with Protestant children. Her mother forbade it. That's how it was back then.'' Besides the usual attention to costumes and sets, Whelan also injected bits of history to bring the conflict to life. The play is set in July during the Protestant Orange Order's parade season. The annual commemoration of William of Orange's 1690 victory over Catholic King James in the Battle of Boyne often led to violence when marchers crossed through Catholic neighborhoods. ``The Protestants were marching through the streets and that's what caused the fight (in the first act),'' he said. Protestant Unionists stood in for Capulets and the Montagues as the Catholics. The Prince is portrayed as a British officer trying to keep the peace. Some character names also were changed to appear more ``Irish.'' For example, Romeo's kinsman kins·man n. 1. A male relative. 2. A man sharing the same racial, cultural, or national background as another. kinsman Noun pl -men Mercutio is now ``McCutio,'' played by 17-year-old Carlys Henderson. ``It's about the spirit of the Irish,'' she said, her hair accented with green highlights. Perhaps Whelan took the most license with Friar Lawrence Friar Laurence (or Friar Lawrence) is a character in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. Role in the play Friar Laurence plays the part of an advisor to Romeo in the play, along with aiding in major plot developments. , the lovers' accomplice. The lines are split between two characters - one a Catholic priest and the other a Protestant preacher. ``They're working together to find a way to bring peace,'' he said. The production has been challenging for the young actors, who must master the Northern Irish lilt on top of Elizabethan English. Whelan gave the students recordings of street interviews conducted in 1979 with Belfast residents to provide cultural and linguistic context Noun 1. linguistic context - discourse that surrounds a language unit and helps to determine its interpretation context, context of use discourse - extended verbal expression in speech or writing . ``It's really depressing at times,'' said Emily Fleischer, 14, who plays Juilet. ``On the interview tape, this lady was talking about a clock at her building. She doesn't know whether it's a bomb or not.'' Aside from politics, the play's essential theme of tragic love is relevant to its teenage cast. ``It's similar to what high school kids think is to be in love,'' Fleischer said. ``High school kids think they love everyone at first sight.'' ``Two weeks is all you get if you're lucky,'' quipped Tim Kendall Tim Kendall (born 1970) is an English poet, editor and critic.[1] In 1994 he founded the magazine Thumbscrew, which published work by poets including Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney and Miroslav Holub, and which ran under his editorship until 2003. , 18, in the role of Romeo. The cast and crew rehearsed over two months, often working six days a week. The experience forged a bond between some of the performers. ``(We) had to be so close that I feel so bad for Carlys when she gets stabbed,'' Kendall said. Still, the dreary material occasionally offers some light moments for its actors. ``It's a chance to do something I couldn't do before, like I wouldn't hit on Fleischer normally,'' said Kendall, a jab at his romantic co-star co·star also co-star n. A starring actor or actress given equal status with another or others in a play or film. tr. & intr.v. co·starred, co·star·ring, co·stars To act or present as a costar. . For Henderson, the play's the thing. ``When you're on stage and the lights are on - the adrenaline you're feeling - it's such a rush,'' she said. ``Everything else goes away. ... You're in Ireland.'' ``Romeo and Juliet'' will be staged at 7 p.m. March 17-20 at Valencia High School, 27801 N. Dickason Drive. Tickets are $5 for children, students and seniors, $7 for adults. For information, call (661) 294-1188, ext. 528 or 522. Eugene Tong, (661) 257-5253 eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Juliet, played by Emily Fleischer, left, and Romeo, played by Tim Kendal, star in Valencia High School's production. (2 -- color) Lou Steele Lou Steele (7 March 1928 - 25 February 2001) was an American actor, radio, and television announcer. Born Louis Ferraioli on 7 March 1928, he is well known for working in a supportive role with such actors as Judith Anderson, Joseph Cotten, Fortunio Bonanova, John plays bagpipes bagpipes Noun, pl a musical wind instrument in which sounds are produced in reed pipes by air from an inflated bag bagpipes npl → gaita sg bagpipes during the death scene in the Irish twist on William Shakespeare's ``Romeo and Juliet'' being performed at Valencia High School. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion