MC students tackle famous scenes in ‘Shakespeare’s Follies’

On what is purported to be William Shakespeare’s 462nd birthday, Mississippi College students will reenact scenes from some of the Elizabethan playwright’s most famous works.

The curtain will rise for “Shakespeare’s Follies” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, in the Jean Pittman Williams Recital Hall in the Aven Fine Arts Building on the Clinton campus. The event is free and open to the public. A reception with birthday cake will follow the performance.

Jamie Ertle, MC assistant professor of music, is overseeing the production. She said the night of scenes, sonnets and songs is meant to serve as a celebration of all things Shakespearean.

“There’s value in studying Shakespeare,” Ertle said. “Performing it is a lot of work. In Shakespeare’s day, they would say, ‘I’m going to hear a play.’ The clues in the acting and the emotion of his work are really in the words he wrote.

“If you perform Shakespeare well – if you can understand what you’re saying and why you’re saying it and communicate that effectively – then you can perform almost anything.”

MC students will perform scenes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “King Lear,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Tempest,” “Julius Caesar,” “Twelfth Night” and “As You Like It.” The production is part of the MC English Department’s George and Alicia Pittman Shakespeare Festival, which honors a pair of MC graduates who founded MC’s annual festival in 1978 and supported the spring event for decades.

Included in the repertoire of the Bard’s work: songs from celebrated Broadway musicals “Kiss Me, Kate” and “Something Rotten” that were inspired by the Sweet Swan of Avon.

“Shakespeare’s Follies” is directed by MC students Charity Johnston and Slade Haney. Johnston, who selected the series of scenes, said she is excited to bring the 16th-century playwright’s work to a 21st-century audience.

“Mostly, I chose scenes that I was particularly in love with,” said Johnston, a junior graphic design major from Brandon. “Most are from Shakespeare’s comedies, and we’re focusing on the more silly ideas from the others, such as how young and silly the boys of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ are.

“We will have a few serious moments, like the monologues from ‘King Lear,’ but in all, we want the audience to enjoy the show and have some good laughs.”

There was a time when the thought of directing a production of Shakespeare would have made Johnston laugh. She was introduced to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in middle school and absolutely hated it.

“I decided Shakespeare was not for me,” she said. Then she read “Julius Caesar” in high school and fell in love with the iambic pentameter verse.

“I went on to read many more of his plays and have become a certified Shakespeare fan ever since,” she said. “When it comes to student directing, Shakespeare is an easy place to learn. The story and the direction is already there – you just have to translate it to stage.”

Cast members include Hope Cuevas, Charles Daugherty, Jadyn Davis, Laith El-Rai, Laura Beth Goode, Ella Goodin, Slade Haney, Anna Harrington, Olivia Holland, Ainsley Marler, Peyton Miller, Anna Morgan, Lily Morgan, Kaydence Patton, Onyx Sandle, Tyler Shinholt, Briar Rose Weis, Seth Weston, and Abigail Young.

Ertle said audiences will connect with the MC students’ performances.

“The subject material is very real and human – grief, humor, the little moments of life. These are very realistic characters, and they reveal the feelings that can exist when they are placed in fantastic situations.

“Those who come to the performance will discover that Shakespeare is still relevant.”