Cal High had a special performance by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, showcasing one of Shakespeare’s comedies, “As You Like It”.
The play was available for second and fourth period English and drama classes to attend on April 19. The performance took place in Cal’s theater, continuing the semi-annual tradition of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival presenting their plays on campus.
“We can have them perform because I got a grant from PTSA to fund them, so we called them and booked it,” English teacher Donna Montague said. “We’ve had them come multiple times in the past. It’s kind of a tradition.”
Cal has a history of hosting either the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival or Oregon Shakespeare Festival annually.
Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” is about a young boy named Orlando and a girl named Rosalind who fall in love.
But they both face adversity as Rosalind is banished by her uncle and Orlando runs to seek refuge from his brother who plans to kill him. To escape, they both hide separately in the forest of Arden, not knowing that the other was close by.
Rosalind disguises herself as a man named Ganymede and Orlando doesn’t know she is disguised.
In the forest, they encounter new characters and untangle a story of love and reconciliation. From there, silliness ensues through misunderstandings and comedic plot twists.
The live performances of Shakespeare plays on campus not only exposes students to literature but also helps them appreciate acting and the arts.
“Shakespeare didn’t write his plays to be read, he wrote them to be performed,” said San Francisco Shakespeare Festival actor Bianca Chesnut, who portrayed both Rosalind and Amiens.
Many students were interested in attending the play because of the opportunity to see professional actors perform live.
“I was excited,” sophomore Myles Paapanen said. “I thought that it would be cool. I’ve never seen professional plays.”
Rebecca Pingree, another San Francisco Shakespeare Festival actor, explained the performers visiting Cal are all professional actors who are on a tour bringing Shakespeare’s plays to schools.
Pingree said the actors who perform on tour every year aren’t always the same, and actors must re-audition for the tour.
“We all have to audition,” Pingree said. “We are all full-timers.”
To prepare for the tour, the group of actors spend a lot of time perfecting their craft.
“It’s 16 days of rehearsal, four days a week for four weeks and five hours a day,” said San Francisco Shakespeare Festival actor Ava Maag, who portrays Celia, Adam and Phoebe.
The actual play was shortened to accommodate time restraints for the school performances. The play was about an hour long.
This is done to achieve a brief version of the original play without leaving out the most important parts.
“My favorite part of the play was when they brought in the volunteers,” Paapanen said. “It was unexpected because they weren’t trained.”
During the play, two students from the drama class, Cahmei Young and Tyler Hurley, volunteered to help with the performance. They acted as additional characters who were in the forest of Arden. This was a unique way to get students involved and was a great opportunity for these two to act with professionals onstage.
“It was really fun and entertaining,” sophomore Hailey Correia said.
Correia said she enjoyed the play, especially the comedic part where a character named Phoebe falls in love with Ganymede thinking she is a man when in fact she is a woman. Fun twists such as this are a staple in Shakespeare’s comedies.
Even though acting might not be his calling, Paapanen appreciates the dedication that actors go through to perform these plays after watching “As You Like It”.
“I don’t think I’ll go into theater but it made me more interested,” Paapanen said. “During the Q&A section, [the actors] talked about how busy their schedule is. I didn’t know going into theater was such a busy job.”
At the end of the performance, actors responded to questions about the tour, being a professional actor, and reasons they pursued a career in theater.
Having the opportunity to watch professional actors at work enriched students’ learning experience. This tradition is a great contribution to Cal’s English and performing arts.
