THEWIRE
Written For Students, By Students
PAC puts on a classic, but with a twist
By Shane Smith
The Delaware Technical Community College Performing Arts Club (PAC) recently held auditions for the Shakespearian classic “Romeo and Juliet”. The play is directed by PAC advisor Gayle Parola and co-directed by vice president Tyler Meding.
PAC will be performing the modernized version of the play, according to both Parola and Meding. “Shakespeare's version of Romeo and Juliet is a very well-known play,” Parola stated. “Shakespearian is lengthy, tragic, and sometimes hard to follow and understand, so we wanted something shorter, more fun, and easy to understand.” Meding added, “This version has a bit more comedy in it and I think that this is definitely something that will keep the audience’s attention.”
The play was originally written by 16th century playwright William Shakespeare in 1595. The play is set in Verona, Italy and is about two “star-crossed” lovers, the title characters Romeo and Juliet, who fall madly in love with each other, but are forbidden from betrothal due to the rivalry between their families the Capulets and Montagues. At the end of the play, they both take their own lives to be with each other forever. In 1996, the play was revived into a film. The film, which was modernized but still donning the Shakespearian language, starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the title roles, Romeo and Juliet.
Auditions for the play were held at Delaware tech on February 11, 12 and 14. The audition required anybody auditioning to act out a scene based on the actual play and, if they wanted to, have an additional monologue prepared to secure a role in the play.
According to the directors of the play, PAC will hopefully put on “Romeo and Juliet” for a total of three performances, one on Friday, May 9 at 7:00 pm and two performances on Saturday, May 10 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm.
“We feel that this play will be fun,” Meding stated. “I think it will both draw a crowd and be something enjoyable for everyone.” Parola added, “This modern-times adaptation by Geoff Bamber is a funny, two-scene play that I think will connect with our Del Tech students as well as our community. It's a modern twist on a classic tale.”