Shakespeare Returns to the Middle School
“It’s going to be really amazing!” promises Skye Volmer, talking about the upcoming 7th grade production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at The Montclair Kimberley Academy. Skye, who has the role of Juliet, explains that the director, MKA faculty member Christian Ely, has taken “The nature of words and the words of nature” as the starting point and theme for this year’s play.
“The set is bare wood – which represents something very natural - but there’s also going to be a lot of spray paint used so there will be a real contrast.” This juxtaposition between simple and contrived and old and new is also going to be carried out in the staging and costuming of the play. “The masked ball scene will be half masquerade and half rave, and the costumes mix Elizabethan and modern styles,” explains Skye.
Staging a Shakespeare production is the annual highlight of the 7th grade experience at MKA, and students are immersed in the language, culture and history of Elizabethan England as well as in the staging of the play itself. “At MKA, all the different classes we take fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and help us to really understand the play.” Says Skye. “At first I thought studying Shakespeare would be really boring, but after looking at the language, I think it’s really beautiful. The thing I love about Shakespeare is that everything he writes has two meanings, so the actors can take it one way and the audience can take it another, and it can mean different things to different people.”
Every member of the 7th grade contributes to the production, whether as an actor, set builder, seamstress, lighting or sound technician. Skye herself, who spends two hours in daily after-school rehearsals, has also spent time assisting with the set and with costumes, and enjoys all the roles equally.
Performances take place on Friday, February 19 and Saturday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the MKA Middle School Auditorium, 201 Valley Road, Montclair. Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for students. For more information, contact cely@mka.org