The Middle School Thespians have had a terrific semester so far and are currently embarking upon their final and most exciting project yet. Earlier this semester, eighth graders Halina Rachelson and Alex Dudley were selected as the winners of a Middle School scriptwriting contest from a selection of very competitive submissions. Their short play entitled West Shore Story, a teenage love story, will be staged and performed by the MS Drama class. Two love scenes from Romeo and Juliet will flank the student-written production to compose our festival-style performance entitled Love’s Labour’s Lost.

This juxtaposition of classic and contemporary love examines the ideal of romantic love as it has changed through time. How do people “date” and “fall in love” now, versus the way that they did in Shakespeare’s time? What are the conventions of love, dating and relationships and how have they shifted? How does the idea of self-respect, respect for our romantic partners and respect for our families influence our choices when it comes to love? Students will be asked to examine and think carefully about these questions throughout the rehearsal process.
Love’s Labour’s Lost will be performed on the evening of May 22nd at 6:30 pm. Following the performance will be a “talk-back,” a forum for open discussion where the actors and writers will be on stage to answer any and all questions that you have for them. They will share with you what they learned about classic and contemporary love throughout the rehearsal process, their personal sources of inspiration, choices that they made regarding their characters and any other information that you are compelled to ask them about! We would love to see you there!