Hayfield Students Turn Shakespeare Classic Into Modern Soap Opera

Cell phones, skateboards and costume changes galore transform Hayfield's production of Shakespeare's “The Two Gentlemen of Verona" into a modern romp for all ages.

Set in Milan, Italy, "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is a tale of foolish lovers, meddling outlaws and mixed-up friends. But the student actors put the 16^th Century show into a familiar setting.

"The show is basically about these two guys and they live in Hayfield, since we're setting it in modern day. One, Proteus, he falls in love with this woman Julia. He has to go away to Milan, or 'UVA" in our version," senior Elizabeth Stapula said.

"She follows him there, dressed up as a boy, but he's fallen in with this other girl there named Silvia. His best friend who lives there also is already in love with her and hilarity ensues."

Though the modern styling of the show is immediately apparent, the twenty-student cast use Shakespeare’s original old English. Director Meghan Nugent said their use of trendy gadgets and props surprisingly fits right into Shakespeare’s fancy phrases.

"If I had to be really honest, I wanted to do it modern so I could play with costumes," Nugent said. "Shakespeare is hard enough for high school [students], but when students see the renaissance dress, they immediately turn off. Most of the costumes came right from the actors closets, but of course we need a few pieces."

Nugent, primarily a costumer, never has a character on stage in the same costume twice and some go through as many as seven changes throughout the nearly two-hour show. Despite the notoriously tricky Elizabethan English and only six weeks of rehearsal, Nugent said the students are ready to shine on stage.

"Most of my actors knew the show from before, and those that didn't, quickly got into it," Nugent said. "It's really just a big soap opera, which most of them quickly fell in love with."