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May 22, 2009
RJDS produces Dream
Students put their all into the Shakespearian play.
PAIGE GELFER
Always, just a few weeks before you put on a big performance, everyone involved in it is already excited. Lines have been memorized, costumes are being tried on, props are starting to be used and the stage is being built. The excitement is contagious, and even those who are not actors in the play want to become a part of it.
The play that students at Richmond Jewish Day School (RJDS) are putting on is A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. Most people may think that a Shakespeare play is too difficult for elementary school students, but all of the actors in A Midsummer Night's Dream have put in many, many hours of hard work and practise since the beginning of January, to make the play perfect.
As an actor in the production, I now know firsthand how hard it is to make a perfect play. The blocking (stage lingo for positioning and moving onstage) alone takes at least half an hour per scene, sometimes even more, depending on how much blocking is needed in that scene. The lights, sound and fog machine (yes, there is a fog machine) all take hours to set up. Memorizing lines and cues is not easy either. Making all of these things work together is no easy task. To be honest, I don't know how our director, Dr. David L. Young, does it.
Now, in the last three weeks before the performance, our play is really starting to look like a play. Most of us have costumes, some of us use props, and all of us have gained something from being in a play that we never knew existed before.
So, why not come see our play? Everyone has worked really hard, and we all want as many people as possible to come enjoy our performance. You never know, if you come, you may like it so much you'll want to see it again!
It is believed that Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1595, during the middle and most prolific and successful period of his career.
It is incredibly gratifying to be able to produce this more than 400-year-old play with the students of RJDS. I am very proud of everyone who has been involved in this Shakespearean production and am grateful for their time, energy and commitment to making a play that will not only entertain so many of our peers, friends and family, but will also become a lifelong memory deeply etched into our school experiences.
For our production, we ask audiences to use the spirit of their imaginations, to suspend their disbelief, as they enter with the actors the worlds of the Lovers, the Athenian Court and the Fairy Kingdom. We have attempted to pull together all these wonderful parts to generate a high-energy play that will put a smile on your face.
RJDS's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is taking place in the gym at the school, located at 8760 No. 5 Rd. in Richmond. Daytime shows, which cost $3/adult (free for students), are Tuesday, May 26, 1:15 p.m., and Thursday, May 28, 10:45 a.m. Evening performances ($8 or $6 for students/seniors) are Tuesday, May 26, and Wednesday, May 27, 7:15 p.m. The door opens 15 minutes before all showtimes. For reservations, call 604-275-3393 or e-mail [email protected].
Paige Gelfer is in Grade 7 at Richmond Jewish Day School and is one of the performers in the school's upcoming production.
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