Bard's "star-crossed lovers" return in modern production
C. SPENCER BEGGS
Assistant Scene Editor
A bloodcurdling scream comes from the normally tranquil Hesburgh International Center for Peace Studies auditorium.
A police officer rushes to the scene, seconds too late. Two lay murdered. Soon a crowd gathers, waking the weary from their slumber to behold the tragedy of love fighting hate.
Who says Shakespeare isn't fun? Certainly not Lisa Marie Fábrega, the director of the Not-So-Royal-Shakespeare Company's spring play, "Romeo and Juliet."
"A lot of people get turned off by Shakespeare because it is written during a time when writers liked to play around with the English language," Fábrega said. "The text was written to be performed, not just read."
Performance is easier said than done, as this cast quickly learned. The auditions were held before winter break so that the actors had time to study their lines.
Fábrega tried to get the actors to think about the show on a more personal level.
"You need to think about what each line is saying. Don't just read, you need to bring the words to life," Fábrega told the cast during a break.
The Not-So-Royal-Shakespeare Company, founded in 1993, is an entirely student-run organization.
The club does one or two shows a year, usually alternating between comedies and tragedies. Past shows have included "The Tempest," "The Comedy of Errors" and "Macbeth."
Fábrega serves double duty — not only is she the director, she is also the club's president.
"I think the point of the Not-So-Royal-Shakespeare Company is to make Shakespeare's plays accessible to students in the modern day," said Fábrega.
"Shakespeare's words still have value in society. The more we study it, the more we realize the uncanny accuracy he had in depicting human experience."
This performance of "Romeo and Juliet" has been modernized in several ways. For example, Juliet is not portrayed as a damsel in distress.
Instead, the company opted to use more modern definitions of gender to depict the star-crossed lovers.
Costumes are simple in this show so the audience can focus on the performance rather than confusing period-costume intricacies.
In the end, the Not-So-Royal-Shakespeare Company is about having fun. "Shakespeare is not just for English majors," Fábrega said. "He wrote his plays for everyone."
"Romeo and Juliet" will be performed March 1 through 4 in the Hesburgh Library Auditorium.
Tickets are available at the LaFortune Box Office and stand-by tickets will also be sold at the door.
The Not-So-Royal-Shakespeare Company does have space limitations, however, and thus must stick to a strict lateness policy.
All ticket holders not present 10 minutes before the start of the show may have their tickets voided and resold because of high numbers of patrons wanting to see the show each night. Entrance into the theater after the performance starts is prohibited.
All Scene Stories for Wednesday, February 28, 2001
