CHS Festival Celebrates Shakespeare Today

From groundlings to the royal box, Shakespeare’s plays gathered the community together. Likewise, more than 200 Columbia High School students have joined forces to produce the Ninth Annual Shakespeare Festival, today, Friday, April 15, from 7 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. The festival is open to the student body, parents, and the public.

“Our goal is simple,” explains Steve MacPherson, who, along with Beth Johnson, and Suzanne Logeman, volunteer their time as advisors. “We want kids to make Shakespeare come alive.  We don't want them to fear the language but to see the beauty in it.  We want kids on their feet with his words rolling off their tongues. 

Indeed, at a recent gathering of the Shakespeare Club, groups of student rehearsed and blocked scenes. “Exeunt,” said one finally, “and then we take it from the top.” Another student, Jackson Scalera, repeated lines to himself; he plays Kate in a scene from The Taming of the Shrew, which he described as a change from last year, when he and two other students performed Hamlet.

Scalera chose this year’s scene because “It’s absolutely hilarious,” he said. “It’s a little crude, very funny, and both of us in the scene will be cross-dressing to make it even funnier.”

This is the success of the festival, says teacher and advisor Logeman. “The students see Shakespeare differently,” she explains. “They say, ‘I can master this. I can do this.’”

Students not only perform, but organize the festival. From assembling the buttons that most of the school community wears, to plastering the hallways with hand-drawn posters, this is student work. The annual festival t-shirt features a logo designed by senior Marlem Sanchez, which every student will wear for the performance. Many students craft their own costumes, sometimes planning a year in advance.

And the festival is a collaboration of community, as well. The festival is funded by donations. The Achieve Foundation has “come through for us each year,” according to MacPherson. In addition, “Cougar Boosters has helped out the past two years by covering our biggest expense, t-shirts for all participants with a student-designed logo. And SOMEA donated money this year to cover our Bard Bars, Hershey bars with the logo for all participants.” The Dougherty family also donated to offset festival expenses.

Next Friday will see performances serious and playful, comedic and tragic, traditional and post-post modern. One of the most remarkable sights, say students, is this: the participants arrive at CHS at 6 a.m. to blow up balloons and set the stage. 

“Teenagers at 6 in the morning,” said one senior. “And you think Hamlet’s ghost is scary.”

Check back with Patch for the history of the festival, and full coverage of the day’s events.