Modern island adaptation of Twelfth Night premieres at LHS November 14-17

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Hugh Norko

Feste and Malvolio in Twelfth Night

by Hugh Norko, Reporter

The fall play, Twelfth Night, is being performed both November 14-15 at 7 p.m, and November 16-17 at 2 p.m.  Tickets purchased online will be $6 for students, $8 for adults, and $10 at the door.

Set in a Pacific island in the 1960s, twins, separated in a shipwreck, stumble upon an island controlled by Duke Orsino. He, along with many other suitors, seeks marriage with the beautiful Olivia.  Lovesickness, trickery, and confusion ensues in this Shakespearian comedy.

Senior Noah Sommer plays the Duke of the island, Orsino. Rich and powerful, Orsino tries everything to have Olivia’s hand in marriage. While this role may be a challenge to some, it is no problem for Sommer. This is his fourth year of theater. Last year he was the Old Man in the play Iphigenia and the Chief in Get Smart.

“While Orsino probably has fewer lines than the Old Man, it is more of a challenge due to the fact that this is Shakespeare. It is hard to be a human with emotions while trying to deliver these tricky lines at the same time,” said Sommer.

Emily Cofer plays Viola. Separated from her thought to be deceased twin, Viola seeks to gain influence in this new land by finding a place in Orsino’s court. While this may be only Cofer’s second high school show, she has practiced theater her entire life, performing in many community shows.

“I always loved the theater and always wanted to be a part of it. I am excited to have the opportunity perform Viola in the play,” said Cofer.

Like Sommer, it is a new experience performing Shakespeare.

“It is not enough to know your lines. You must know how to react to what other the other characters are saying,” said Cofer.

Other roles include the humorous Sir Andrew Aguecheek, played by Jacob Moorman. An unlikely suitor to Olivia, he and his fellow knight, Sir Toby (Sean Blough), get into some mischief.

“My character is there to provide primarily humor support. He helps bring comedy to many scenes,” said Moorman. “For characters like these you must know what they want and who they are in the inside in order to understand their actions on stage. Andrew’s character is perfect for the comedy role.”

Many new actors include freshmen Elise Fenstermacher. She plays Curio, one of the Duke’s assistants.

“I always gone to see Linganore’s shows as a kid and always hoped to be part of them,” said Fenstermacher.

Out of the spotlight, the tech crew is working to ensure that everything goes smoothly for the actors. Members such as wing heads help coordinate sets and props.

“We have many duties such as writing cue to cues, finishing to-do lists for tech, planning the movement of the sets, and, basically, being responsible for anything that happens in the wings,” said  Senior Jana Fenstermacher, one of the wing heads.

Corinne DeFrancisci, a member of the stagecrew, describes the process of making the set.

“We had to research the architectural style of the period. It took many hours after school deciding how we wanted the set to look like,” said DeFrancisci.

Unique features include a dock the projects out over the pit, a working fountain that starts whenever Orsino’s court is on stage, and an elaborate house for Oliva.

“It’s a challenging process, but it is still a lot of fun,” said DeFrancisci.

Earlier in the year the cast took a field trip to the production of Twelfth Night at Towson. Towson’s show helped supply the tech crew with many prop and set designs, while the directors received ideas on blocking.

“By that point I already pretty much knew my character. However, it did help me realize new ways to deliver my lines and react to others. The cast seeing Towson’s production didn’t make our show good, but it just gave it good ideas,” said Sumer.