Shakespeare's The Tempest: A Review

The lights dim, people file in to take their seats, the cast is ready, let The Tempest begin. Our drama team worked long and hard to bring to us the fall 2019 production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. From script modifications necessary to accommodate the size of the cast, to the incredible attention to detail in the stage décor and costumes—the drama crew should be proud of their achievement.

The wonderful cast put so much effort into creating such a spectacular production. They faced some challenges and poured a lot of energy into this play. Sebastian Gomez ’23, who played Ferdinand said that the “sheer number of scenes and blocking we had to do in a limited amount of time was extremely challenging, but it brought us together.” This was one of the many challenges the cast had to face in order to bring the entire production together. Lauren Shen ’20, who played Antonio, adds that “figuring out how everything gets put together on stage” was very difficult. Finding out exactly where every actor should go as the plot unfolds on stage is quite the challenge. However, with challenges come great memories.

Alysse Quin ’21, who played Miranda, says that one of her favorite memories was doing Mariana Combariza’s ’21 makeup for her character, Caliban. “I love doing makeup and would love to continue doing costume makeup in college, so this was a great chance for me to get more experience.” The play served as an opportunity for our Bear Creek actors to reflect on their experiences so far and learn more about the other amazing opportunities the rest of the cast has had. Nate Pinto ’22, who played Stephano, says that his favorite memory was “sitting with my three scene partners Grace, Marianna, and Grace and talking about theatre and our past experiences acting at school.” From extravagant makeup to simple conversations with friends, many great memories were formed in this production. All these experiences shaped the cast into the actors they are today.

Getting into character is not simple, especially for a Shakespearean play. It can be hard to embody the true personality of each unique persona, but our cast made it look effortless. They flowed with their characters and had a great time learning more about them. Lauren said that it was an interesting mix to “have to be super sarcastic and deadpan” while playing her character but also to be “very manipulative and decisive.” “Miranda was also a pretty interesting character to play,” Alysse commented, as she is very dramatic. Alysse continued, “I am used to playing more reserved characters,” but that getting to play Miranda was a great experience for her to “find a balance between not being dramatic enough and overreacting.” Our actors did an excellent job of getting into their characters and exploring ways they could enhance the personalities of each character.

Overall, The Tempest was a fabulous show put on by very talented actors. From the incredible performance to the extravagant makeup and stage décor, the effort was very visible. They poured their talent, energy, and emotion into this production and presented a wonderful show for the Bear Creek community.