SAN DIEGO — Not everyone gets to have his birthday parade in Heritage Park in Old Town, San Diego, and enjoy performances in his honor. But then again, the Bard is not just anybody! William Shakespeare’s birthday and his accomplishments are the focus of the 17th Annual San Diego Shakespeare Festival. This extravaganza is produced by Write Out Loud and the Shakespeare Society and features a wide range of schools in San Diego County.
What was once a competition has now become an open event to encourage youngsters, elementary through 19 years of age, to recreate a scene or scenes from Shakespeare’s tome of plays. These reimaginings will take the form of spoken word, music, and dance, and to share the joy, it’s all FREE to attendees!
To learn more about the festival, I connected with Drama Club originator, Alessa Alluin, and her ad hoc director, Chelsea Long, from Mission Bay High School. While it may not be unusual or even especially noteworthy for teenagers to sign up for a drama club, Alessa created the club on her own so that she could share her fascination with Shakespeare and his impact on her life. Without a dedicated full-time teacher or coach, the girls took it upon themselves to recruit more thespians. In two separate phone calls, I found out much about these young women and my respect for them is vast.
Alessa Alluin is a current sophomore at Mission Bay High School. While in middle school at Longfellow, a Spanish immersion school, Alessa became acquainted with theater. Thanks to English teacher, Miss O’Shea, Alessa found her place on stage and discovered the power of language and drama. She also has enjoyed YMCA productions. Alessa was eager to begin a drama club but lacked the support system. Enter Chelsea.
Chelsea and Alessa met in Model U.N. Chelsea represented Hungary and Alessa stood for Australia. During the course of this class, the two realized that they worked well together and shared common interests. This first collaboration led them to explore a partnership in the Drama Club at Mission Bay.
What I found interesting was that neither of the young women had imagined a life of acting prior to Shakespeare Festival, and neither one of them sees this as her life’s work. However, I was quite impressed with each one’s commitment and extrapolation of what this experience has provided. I think this is the goal of the festival and ultimately of Write Out Loud. Veronica Murphy, Artistic Director, has shared with me previously, that she just wants individuals to express themselves openly and honestly. Murphy expressed that she knows this requires bravery.
Chelsea recalls that her first Shakespeare encounter was early on. She remembered a second-grade introduction. However, it was a reading of Twelfth Night that caught her attention and she enjoyed the gender fluidity, a Shakespeare trademark, and the confusion that ensues when characters are disguised or intentionally mask their true identities to elude detection. Chelsea enjoys her role as director, one who gives feedback to actors. She admits that she sometimes feels “too pushy when I give reminders” but she realizes there is a balance between acting and directing. Chelsea credits her early training to a teacher, Ms. Blanchard, who taught her to consider the entire picture, something of a bird’s eye view.
Mission Bay’s drama club has been rehearsing two scenes that they will present at Heritage Park on Saturday. The vignettes must be between six to ten minutes and may range from monologues to group scenes. The selection is determined by the school clubs and the number of actors available. The co-conspirators are both proud of the troupe’s dedication and efforts. Mission Bay’s dramatists have memorized monologues and grown as writers, thinkers, and readers. They have explored the subtlety of Shakespeare’s rhymes and plumbed the depths of his puns.
Where to after this? Alessa would love to hold an SNL (Saturday Night Live) night at school, with school-appropriate skits. She feels that branching out from Shakespeare may entice more actors to join, and believes it would be more interesting to perform with a larger cast.
I wanted to know if juggling school, life, and drama club was challenging but both girls told me that they enjoy a full docket and feel that sophomore year is the perfect time to embark on this adventure.
Eva Trieger is a Solana Beach-based freelance writer who specializes in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com