Do students say nay or yay for the Shakespeare play? A Powell High School audience recently had the opportunity to watch the Shakespearean play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, presented by Shakespeare in the Schools. 

Sophomore Kaylee Harris enjoyed the play and doing the workshops with the actors after the performance. 

“I actually really liked [the play],” Harris said. “I liked [the workshops] too. It was fun. We got to play some games.”

Sophomore Emma Bear was somewhat torn about the Shakespearean performance.

“I thought it was very funny,” Bear said. “I just thought some of the scenes were really hilarious. I don’t really know why – I might have been just bored.”

This sentiment was shared by Bear’s cousin of the same grade.

“I really liked it because it was well thought out and well executed,” sophomore Aubrey Bear said. “I think I enjoyed most of it just because you could see the effort and thought put into it.”

Other students were not so impressed with the play. 

“Well, I feel like in my opinion I just feel like it was really boring because I didn’t understand half of what they were saying,” sophomore Lizzeth Bustamante-Varela said. “It was in, like, Shakespeare language, so I didn’t really understand it. Not to be rude or anything. I know they tried really hard, but I just couldn’t understand it.”

Other students felt the comedic nature of the play made it really easy to follow and to understand. 

“I think that the opportunity is great to see something different than we do every day,” sophomore Leeanne Phillips said. “Especially because it’s something most students learn in school, and it helps them understand the curriculum better. Also, the comedy aspect made it easy to follow and more enjoyable than a dramatic play.”

Overall, PHS students found the play to be successful as the play had good reviews students  finding the play funny and entertaining.

For those interested, Shakespeare in the Schools has information about the play and past plays the group has done, bios for the actors and the director of the play, and how to get involved with the production.