BHS students celebrate Shakespeare

Every year, Baldwin High School teacher Rachael Smith assigns her freshman English classes a festival of Shakespearean fun. Students are expected to not only read Shakespeare, but to produce it as well.

Each student in her freshmen classes are required first to read Romeo and Juliet, then to read a modern parallel to Romeo and Juliet and then to write their very own version of the classic in Shakespearean style. Besides all of the reading and writing, students are expected to act out their very own play in front of upwards of 300 people.

Smith knows how important this project is.

“About ten percent of these kids are the kids that are in forensics, do the fall musical, and spring play,” Smith said, “while many of the rest of these kids may have never spoken in front of a large crowd before, and are likely never to again.”

Smith has put on this Shakespeare festival for the last six years.

She thinks the presentations get better each year.

“Usually the scripts are only three or four pages, while this year many of them were nine or ten pages,” Smith said. “They were far better this year than they have been in the past. Some kids got really into sonnet writing. There would be several sonnets in one play.”

BHS student Alec Petry was happy with his performance.

“I really enjoyed the project,” Petry said. “I got a ‘B’ on it, but I was still happy with my performance. I think the festival is a good way to learn Shakespeare.”

The Shakespeare festival is now a tradition at BHS that has earned its place in the curriculum.

Story by Brandon Baltzell, BHS Journalism