BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—Arguably the most beloved of all Shakespeare plays is in final preparations for its run at OSU Mansfield this coming weekend.
A partnership between the OSU Mansfield Theatre Department and the Mansfield Shakespeare Company, the tragedy of star-crossed lovers is still enduring after hundreds of years. This production will feature a cast of OSU student actors and local veterans of the stage.
“There has to be something about it that’s still connecting with modern audiences,” said director Tori O’Brien of Mansfield. “Who among us can’t relate to those feelings of first love, or that conflict with your parents who just don’t get it, or the pain and joy of friendships, especially when everything feels so real and raw at a young age.”
The actors will portray 400-year-old characters in modern dress. “I just think it’s a lot easier for audiences to connect with those themes if the characters look like them,” O’Brien said. “There’s always a time and a place for the traditional period garb, and I love those productions, but I really wanted to strip away the conceptions of what Romeo and Juliet is … for audiences to feel like, ‘Oh, this isn’t just something I’m reading in English class, this is something that’s very real, and very true, and very beautiful.’ I think seeing it as a reflection of our own time and culture is very valuable.”
Portraying the title characters are two actors who are taking their first steps into Shakespearean drama. Playing Romeo is Javier Villalon Lopez of Willard, an Electrical Engineering major. “I just started [acting] my first year here at OSU Mansfield,” Lopez said, “and it’s a bigger role than I thought I would have gotten. So, I’m happy to be given the opportunity.”
Lopez echoes the play’s relevance to today’s generation. “I think part of the reason why it’s still very popular is because it’s still easy to connect with, even though it’s such an old play. Not everyone has such a passionate kind of love story where people end up dying, but I don’t find it hard to connect with.”
Playing Juliet is Alayna Rickly of Mansfield, a Fashion & Retail Studies major. “I’m usually typecast as the girl next door,” Rickly said, “but I feel like [Juliet] has a lot more depth, which is fun. I love exploring different emotions.”
“I also relate to the close relationship she has with some people,” Rickly explained. “I really enjoy [her] relationship with the nurse, because I make connections with female relationships I have in my own life.”
One of those connections turned out to be closer than she knew. Playing Juliet’s Nurse is Josie Burns, a teacher from Mansfield, who, once upon a time, taught Romeo & Juliet to a high school class that included Rickly.
“Working with Alayna is amazing,” Burns said. “It makes my job so much easier because it’s like the separation between the characters and who we are as people is not a gulf.”
Revisiting the Nurse’s character, this time from an acting standpoint, was a unique challenge for Burns.
“I feel like my read on her after refreshing my memory was not that different,” Burns explained, “which is almost dangerous, because then I start to think, ‘Should I be asking more questions?’”
“There are certain characters that in certain moments are really easy to dislike. That’s a bad thing to do. When the nurse says to Juliet, ‘I’m sorry, I think you should marry the other guy.’ There’s a part of me that feels terrible for saying that, and I can’t do that as [the Nurse] because she thinks it’s the right thing to do. So, I have to be cautious that I am not playing her too nice. The more complexity, the better.”
Complexity is the key challenge for performing Shakespeare, and student actors are faced with the daunting task of tackling very unfamiliar language.
English major Sam Potter of Shelby plays Romeo’s friend, Mercutio, who has the most abstract and complex speeches in the play. But Potter’s approach to the character is serving him well. “I always try to dig deeper when it comes to any of my lines or the motivation behind things,” Potter explained, “because Mercutio is nothing like me. He’s a big personality. Huge personality.”
Another challenge the students face is stage combat. Traditionally, Romeo & Juliet calls for rapiers or long swords. The actors in this production will be fighting with daggers. “I’ve done stage combat, but never with a dagger,” Potter said, “so it’s a fun learning experience.”
Throughout the rehearsal processes, young actors are learning important lessons about character preparation and the value of classical theatre.
These lessons are summed up by Gary Kennedy, a retired math professor from Lexington, who portrays the role of Romeo’s mentor, Friar Lawrence. “Shakespeare gives you just the words you need. Shakespeare always has the right word. You forget a word, you substitute your own, and you go back and look at what he wrote. And Shakespeare is always more precise. More on the mark.”
“I think it’s just such a great mutual learning environment,” director Tori O’Brien concluded. “It’s encouraging for the community actors to see these young people, their freshness, their energy, and in some cases their foibles, especially with this play that deals with topics of youth, impulsivity and making honest mistakes.”
“There’s very little ego,” said O’Brien,” which I think is where a lot of great learning and growth can happen. It’s the lack of ego and that eagerness to learn.
I think that, with a show like this, that ends on such a powerful note of how hatred for hatred’s sake only leaves everybody broken, is a really powerful message, especially in today’s climate.”
Tickets for Romeo & Juliet can be purchased by calling 419-755-4045 or by contacting mansfieldtheatre@osu.edu. Tickets are also available on-site, beginning 45 minutes before each performance.
Performances are 7:30pm on Friday (Feb. 28), Saturday (March 1), and Monday (March 3) with a Sunday matinee (March 2) at 2:30pm. Performances will be held in Founders Auditorium, Ovalwood Hall, on the OSU Mansfield campus.