Photos: Students Pour Hearts into Shakespeare Festival At Southold Amphitheater

SOUTHOLD, NY - After hours of dedication and practice, Greenport and Southold Schools teamed up Friday night for the First Annual Playing @Will Spring Festival.

A shining performance of "The Tempest" held at the Southold Schoold Amphitheater was the highlight of months of preparation. The first annual festival "is a unique program that supports the sharing of resources between school districts and creates a thematic, interdisciplinary learning experience for our students," the program said.

The evening also included stages monologues and song.

The production was comprised seventh through 12th graders, who have been practicing since March, "learning a new, active and intellectually, emotionally and rigorous approach to playing Shakespeare," the program said. During the rehearsal process, there were four master classes in performance, tech, dance and movement. Production teams were also formed to create the costumes and set and to help with sound and lighting; the photo and video team documented the process. Students also created the student artwork.

The students were guided and directed by A.D. Newcomer, member of the national recognized and award winning Shakespeare & Company. Co-directing was John Tramontana, a teacher at Greenport with extensive acting experience, with a focus on Shakespeare. His Playing@Will class is in its third year and launched the Spring Festival.

Southold Schools Superintendent David Gamberg said it meant a great deal to see the amphitheater being used to showcase Shakespeare.

"I see the amphitheater as an incredible venue to promote unique learning experiences, and to celebrate our students in a special place of learning. The acoustics are wonderful, and the outdoors provides an added dimension of quality to the experience for anyone performing and the audience as well," he said.

"The coming together of students from both schools was equally important. It once again represents our efforts to share resources, and expand opportunities for students, much the way we do with ROTC, sports, and shared classes," Gamberg said.

Before the performance, jousters and jugglers were seen on the school grounds, including Gamberg, who debuted his impressive juggling skills.