By CATHERINE ELLERTON
Moapa Valley Progress
“Squiddley, squaddley, squiddley, squaddley” echoes through the halls of the Moapa Valley High School. On Monday, Feb. 3, the Utah Shakespeare Festival brought their production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the Moapa Valley.
The Shakespeare-in-the Schools Productions not only bring The Bard’s works to the community, but also takes a moment to teach various acting methods to young students.
Trey Plutnicki (Mercutio, Montague) and Bailey Savage (Capulet, Balthasar) introduced the students to the various Improvisational skills required for an actor to be in command of the stage. Kenna Funk (Tybalt, Lady Capulet) and Ian Allred (Benvolio, Paris) were busy teaching methods involved in Stage Combat to sell the fight without actually getting hurt.
This cast of young professional actors are from Washington, Illinois, Wyoming, Las Vegas, Utah, and California. They were Theatre Arts Majors and currently find work throughout the United States through Video Auditions and “cattle calls.” This current 3-month travelling production will be performed in Las Vegas, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado.
Following their classes last week, the actors continued to set up the stage in the Ron Dalley Theatre. The sets were minimal in design from school desks, to a few tables to large chalkboards which contain scene locations to various play information.
The energetic production is under the watchful eyes of Emily Cacho, Company Manager; Collin Hall, Technical Director; Jaclyn Pageau, Stage Manager and Jason Spelbring, Director.
The setting is a modern high school classroom and the actors each play several characters as the story of love, jealousy, friendship, conflict and death unfolds.
The production brought the story into the modern world. The school desks are moved about as scenes change. Actors sit, stand and jump on the table and desks to emphasize the character they are playing at the time. The sound effects and music were all courtesy of the actors as they hummed and sang in the background, or clapped their hands or snapped their fingers. Shakespearean English is used but in this modern setting was surprisingly easy to understand.
Romeo, played by Dane Michael Braddy, and Juliet, played by Marena Kleinpeter, bring a true meaning to the love they find with each other; the frustration they face by family rivalry; and the support of friends such as the nurse played by Rachael Hodge. But in the end, death is the winner.
Following the production the cast took a moment for a Question and Answer session with the audience. They indicated that the play was cast in October, started rehearsals in January and one month later, hit the road. They also are responsible for crew jobs and teaching the workshops. The characters are formed in collaboration with each other and the director who wanted the play to be more realistic to today.
These events are sponsored in part by the Moapa Valley Performing Arts Council, Individual Partners for the Arts which include Nevada Arts Council, America First Credit Union, Grant and Laurel Bushman, Moapa Valley Telephone Company, Moapa Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Board of County Commissioners.
The next Arts Council production will be the MV Community Theatre production of “Once Upon A Mattress” Feb. 19 – 22 and the Missoula Children’s Theatre “Jack and the Beanstalk” on March 2 – 7.
