Schools team up to present Romeo and Juliet

The sets have been brought in from New York. The professional costumes have arrived, and the balcony has been built. Soon it will be time for the curtain to rise, and for some of Caldwell County's most talented actors to shine as the drama departments of four Caldwell County schools present Shakespeare's classic “Romeo and Juliet.”

Last June, drama teachers from Hibriten High School, South Caldwell High School, West Caldwell High School and Davenport A+ School, the only four schools in the county that have drama departments, met to do something that, as far as they know, has never been done in Caldwell County before. They were going to join forces and produce a play. The idea came from Joshua Scott of Hibriten High School and is an effort to promote unity throughout the school system.

“So many times in education, teachers, coaches, faculty and staff and administration always talk about unification and trying to bind the community together. I am a person that likes to do and not just talk about getting things done,” Scott said. “I feel like this project has culminated in combining together to form a team - not four teams, but one team.”

The teachers, Scott, Beth Woodard of South Caldwell, Evette Hagan of West Caldwell and Gina Scott of Davenport A+, worked through the summer to be ready to introduce their idea to their respective students right after school began in August.

Unlike plays put on by just one school, this play was going to require students from the four schools to blend together as one unit, so in November the teachers started having workshops to allow those who wanted to be involved in the production a chance to get to know one another.

“Before we even had auditions we had three workshops. We played getting-to-know-you games, getting all the students together,” said Woodard. “We wanted them to feel comfortable with each other and have a sense of camaraderie before we embarked on this adventure.”

Putting the show together has been the best kind of adventure for the four directors. There have between 100 and 125 people, including students and parents, working on the show in some capacity, and the community itself has really shown its support for the show. Steve Boss, a professional Shakespearean actor, worked with the students during the workshops on the pieces they would present during the auditions. Puddingstone will perform the music for the show, and the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center box office is handling all of the ticket sales.

“All we've had is open doors. We haven't had doors shut in our face and that's so nice,” said Joshua Scott. “It should not be looked at as just four schools, but as a community-wide endeavor.”

The directors held joint auditions in December and as a group awarded parts to the actors and handed out assignments to technicians. The students have been rehearsing after school for months and have spent hours building Juliet's balcony, which was one of the only set pieces not brought in from New York.

Monday they came together for their first dress rehearsal, and it was an experience like no other for the directors.

“We had our first tech dress rehearsal last night, and it went very smoothly,” said Woodard. “I was in tears almost. It was breath-taking how beautiful they look. You see them rehearsing in their tennis shoes, and they transformed so beautifully when they put on the costumes.”

The collaborative effort of the directors and the students has made the production something very special for all involved.

“This has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me ever. To get to do theater the way it's supposed to be done - collaboratively,” said Woodard.

It also has been enriching for all the students involved.

Eleven students from Gina Scott's drama department at Davenport A+ School will take part in the production. They will perform a dance at the Capulet's masquerade ball, and they will serve as villagers. One of the Davenport students, Trey Ellis, will have a larger part playing Mercutio's page.

“This will be an opportunity for them to be able to experience something that some of them may never be able to experience again,” she said. “That will be a memory they have forever.”

Her husband, Joshua Scott, agreed.

“I hope (all the students) come away with an appreciation and an understanding of how blessed and fortunate we are to be living in a county that would allow us this adventure,” he said. “These kids hopefully one day will look back and say, ‘Wow, what an incredible experience, and so many kids in the surrounding counties may not be able to have that experience.'”

Gina Scott said that while there may be an age difference between her students and the students from the high schools, it wasn't a concern at all trying to blend the two groups.

“The high schoolers just take the little ones in and put them under a wing. They just went with the flow,” she said.

She hopes her students learn from the experience just what it means to unite in a project.

“I always teach them that there are no small parts, only small actors, and it's the experience that counts,” she said. “It's the entire process as a whole. It's teamwork, cooperation and the unity that it takes to make this come to life. That's what I think they should learn.”

The months of rehearsals and work have paid off, according to the directors. They expect this show to be the best that the Caldwell County schools have ever put on, and they hope the community will come out and support the students.

“If they come, they are going to see a Broadway-quality performance,” Woodard said. “Our students have risen to the occasion of producing a professional quality acting and tech-wise show.”

The play, which can run several hours has been streamlined for today's modern audience, Woodard said.

The show will last about two hours, including the intermission.

The show will be on stage at 7:30 p.m. May 1, May 2 and May 3 and 2 p.m. May 4 at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center. Tickets are $8 for students and $12 for adults, and may be purchased by calling the Civic Center box office at 726-2407 or online at www.broyhillcenter.com.

While the first curtain hasn't been drawn yet, the directors already are calling the show a great success because of what's been accomplished so far and the precedent they've set for the future.

“It's always overwhelming for me to see a production come together. But with this production, it was a dream that has become a reality with the help of so many humble people,” said Joshua Scott, who already is looking forward to collaborative efforts in the future. “We would love to be able to say, someday, that we could do a production that would encompass all of the schools in the county because all of them have drama departments, but until that day this is a great stepping stone.”