Hello! Shakespeare Review & Credits List

By Ian Murphy

Play By Joseph P. Kochiss

                Hello! Shakespeare is a funny comedy based on William Shakespeare's plays and life experiences. The audience actually learned a lot from the play while the 6th graders were turning the audience upside down and inside out with their hilarious and stomach-twisting comments. For example, did you know that Shakespeare wrote 37 plays in his lifetime? I didn't! He also was known as the Bard of Avon, meaning, in general terms, a poet. The Avon part comes from a river in England next to Shakespeare's childhood home, the river Avon. Well guess what, this information and much more was presented during Hello! Shakespeare! Amazing, right? Anyway, before the play started, the director, Mr. Goolsby, exclaimed to the audience that this was his 34th year of directing plays! Congratulations, Mr. Goolsby! The play lasted about 35 minutes, by the way, just enough time to send the audience home happy. If you know anyone who contributed to Hello! Shakespeare, please congratulate them. Now, let's settle in and read the play summary.

                The narrators and their helpers provided a biography of William Shakespeare who appeared in protest to make sure they got the details right. Drawing from his list of comedies, tragedies, and histories, Shakespeare's characters followed. They reenacted moments from their plays and recited famous lines while the helpers created mischief. The play ended with a performance of “Pyramus and Thisbe” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

                The next play on our radar is The Snow White Variety Show by Brian D. Taylor. This is an all-school play, and auditions were Monday, September 26th and Tuesday, September 27th in the auditorium. Auditions ran from 3:15 until 5:00. 

Now, for the credits list, from the play’s brochure.

CAST LIST

MASTERS OF CEREMONY - Gabriella Kellison & Maya Dey

HELPERS - Sofia Lefort, Lily Otter, Eliza Shorter

SHAKESPEARE - Beckett Hutchinson

CLOWN ONE - Olivia Jaramillo

CLOWN TWO - Ali Lillich

CLOWN THREE- Maddie McIntire

TRAGEDIAN ONE - Katie Hall

TRAGEDIAN TWO - Ciara Trotter

TRAGEDIAN THREE - Lucy Johnson

KING - Cortez Overstreet

PAGE ONE - Camilla Simms

PAGE TWO - Ada K. Wisler

HAMLET - John Lord

JULIET - Olivia Goeser

ROMEO - Jackson Zinn

RICHARD II - Davis Greenstreet

MARK ANTONY - Gus Cordova

RICHARD III - Ben Buffington

KATHERINE - Olivia Jaramillo

DUKE ORSINO - Felix Janzen Chappell

MUSICIAN - Ali Lillich

CLEOPATRA - Camilla Simms

LADY MACBETH - Soraya Denlinger

WITCH ONE - Ada K. Wisler

WITCH TWO - Ciara Trotter

WITCH THREE - Lucy Johnson

ACTRESS - Maddie McIntire

YOUTH - Katie Hall

AGE - Soraya Denlinger

IAGO - M.C. Hill

RODERIGO - Beckett Hutchinson

ROSALIND - Rhylea Dailey

CELIA - Olivia Martinez

QUINCE - Ben Buffington

PYRAMUS - Gabriel Hunter

WALL - Julia Bond

THISBE - Kaitlyn Collier

MOONSHINE - Elena Heatwole

LION - May Gao

CREWS

Props: Hayden Moore, Gray Werner, Maeve O'Lear, Alex Fredrick

Publicity: M.C. Hill, Riley Wilson

Lights & Sound: Reed Spillman - Lights; Michael Romito - Sound; Susan Mechem - Lights & Sound

Costumes: Rylie Hall, Auria Jackson, Haley McCloskey, and Erin Rajiha

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Charles Goolsby

Assistant Director: Brian Williams

Set Designer: Charles Goolsby

Lighting Designer: Brian Williams

Student Lighting Designer: Amelia Osborn

Stage Manager: Amelia Osborn

Student Directors: Aiden Basore and Spencer Greenwood

Special thanks to: Parents of the Cast members and the parents of the Crew members, Principal Brad Kempf, Assistant Principal Kathryn Branson, Cheryl Keslar, Patti Taylor, James Ortiz, Cheryl Keslar, Craig McCauley, Paul Morganroth, WMS Custodial Staff, USD 497 Print Shop, Theatre Lawrence and James Diemer, and Jane Pennington; Lawrence High School Drama Department and Jamie Johnson, and anyone else who helped in this endeavor and whom we may have inadvertently forgotten to thank here!

Additional thanks to: The 8th grade team of helpers — Sarah Bremmer-Cavanaugh, Max Chisholm, Rylie Hall, Auria Jackson, Haley McCloskey, Anna McIntire, and Erin Rahija; Ticket Takers Thursday: Melissa Hutchinson, Dawnnette El Youssi; Ticket Takers Friday: Elenor Huffington, Dawnnette El Youssi, Sarah Hall; Tony Barron USD 497 Director of Facilities and Operations; Kirsten Wondera, USD 497 Fine Arts Specialist; Sarah Rahija and Brenda Goolsby;  plus the Pioneer Drama Service.