GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College, a leading liberal arts college in northwest Pennsylvania, hosted its fifth annual high school Shakespeare Festival Thursday, Jan. 25 at the William A. Robinson Theater.
High school students from area high schools and schooling associations gathered at the event to celebrate the works of William Shakespeare by sharing pre-prepared performances of the Bard’s work. This day-long festival culminated in an awards ceremony and feedback from the College’s panel of theater respondents. Assistant Professor of Performing Arts and Director of Theatre at Thiel College Pete Rydberg, Ph.D., organized the event and lead the day’s activities.
“We had the pleasure of welcoming high school thespians to share in performance their own takes on Shakespeare’s work. Some remain faithful to the original text, others are more irreverent. This year there was a ridiculously funny reduction of Romeo & Juliet. But it is still Shakespeare’s lines—just remixed at times. Each school gets to perform a piece that makes the Bard’s work relevant to them. Then we extend the experience—this year with afternoon hip hop sonnet and stage combat workshops,” Rydberg said. “ The festival is a fantastic way to kick off each new year at the theater!”
Students presented their work during the morning, took a break for lunch, and then a performance block and workshops followed in the afternoon. The annual events are free and open to the public.
To be included, high school performances had to be from any of Shakespeare’s works and under 25 minutes long. The celebration of peer work was not treated as a competition. However, awards were given to recognize exceptional work.