On Oct. 26 through the 28, the Aliso Niguel Theatre Company made their debut this school year with the “Twelfth Night” play, originally written by William Shakespeare, with a very successful production.
“Twelfth Night” is a romantic comedy by Shakespeare that is believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season.
The play centers around Viola, separated from her twin Sebastian, who dresses as a boy and works for the Duke Orsino; she falls in love with him. Orsino is in love with the Countess Olivia, and sends Viola to court her for him, but Olivia falls for Viola instead.
When Sebastian arrives, it causes a flood of mistaken identity, and he marries Olivia. Viola then reveals she is a girl and marries Orsino.
Mia Perez (12), who played Maria in the production says, “My favorite part of Twelfth Night was definitely working with my closest friends every day and getting closer with them. I loved challenging myself with Shakespeare and accent work, and it was so fun to create silly bits with my friends in each scene.”
The ANTC works endlessly to make sure they’re producing an accurate and tasteful depiction of reenactments. During the summer, the ANTC staff discusses show options and ultimately the director picks, after discussion, what the best fit would be.
Mia says, “It took months to get ready for opening night, and several weeks of memorizing lines every night, especially with adding an accent on top of it all. The hardest part of it all was dissecting the language and understanding exactly what each line meant.”
William Shakespeare’s works provide the first recorded use of over 1,700 words in the English language. Because he wrote in what is known as Old English, the ANTC staff had to pay close attention to every line, breaking each one down and grasping what Shakespeare meant.
Jordan Brown (12), who played Feste says, “I first got into acting about 6th grade, my very first show was Aladdin Jr. I instantly fell in love with the beauty & liveliness of theater! It truly is such a unique experience to all involved.”
The passion in the Aliso Niguel Theater Company’s work shows through their devotion to portray characters precisely, ensuring a pleasant experience for viewers.
Jordan says, “This process was definitely more challenging & complex compared to past roles I’ve had. I had two incredible directors to guide me through this journey and it took about two weeks for me to learn lines and cues!
“Twelfth Night” has a number of morals that viewers can recognize. The most significant is the importance of staying true to oneself.
Whether it’s Viola dressing up as a man or Maria writing a phony love letter to Malvolio pretending to be from Olivia, there’s so much dishonesty going on that truth seems to be rare.
The true selves of those involved still rise to the surface; disguises can only be worn for so long. At some point, people have to reveal themselves for who they really are.
Shakespeare’s works show us what it is to be human, and bring forth themes of humanity. Shakespeare is especially relevant for high school students, as many of his works focus on young adult protagonists.
The ANTC was able to bring this play to life so effortlessly and intricately!
