Tonight's production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" at Sharon Elementary School in Sharon, Vt., marks the culmination of a nine-week partnership between the school and professor James Rice's Theater 10, Special Topics in Theater, class at the College.
The class, which is open to all Dartmouth students, has been working with the 39 fifth and sixth graders at the school as part of the Dartmouth Shakespeare Project's third in-school residency program.
The first four weeks of the program focus on exploring acting and are followed by the gradual implementation of the plot, language and characters of "Twelfth Night."
The next five weeks of the program consist of casting and rehearsal for the show.
There are no auditions, and all students participate in the production, which emphasizes process over product.
Dartmouth students directed and stage-managed each scene, said Josh Wexler '08, and learned what it takes to put a theater production together.
Theater 10 students abridged the script and conducted games to teach the students about Shakespeare and theater.
The students also completed writing exercises and participated in class discussions to support the two-hour biweekly rehearsals.
Although the plot is abridged, the language is that of Elizabethan England.
Wexler said he and his classmates came up with a list of words they did not know in the script and created a list for the elementary school students to learn at the rate of a word a week.
"It's nothing watered down, it's just a lot abridged," Wexler said.
The Dartmouth students emphasized teaching the action in a particular scene -- what was happening and what each character was saying -- which made learning Shakespeare enjoyable for the kids, according to Wexler.
The Dartmouth Shakespeare project is based on the nationally acclaimed Shakespeare & Company in-school education program.
The program, out of Lennox, Mass., focuses on "developing the skills necessary to be creative and to effectively communicate thoughts and feelings in a communal environment," according to the program's website.
Lynn Lee '05 recommended anyone who is interested in theater or teaching to take the class.
Curtain time is 6:30 p.m. at the elementary school for the hour-long performance.
Tickets are free, but seating is limited.
