Creek’s theater company decided to win over their audiences with a tale of unrequited love and mistaken identities this year, performing Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” from Friday to Tuesday. The show doubled down on themes of love, even when people’s identities were misleading. The play follows the story of Viola, played by seniors Kate Dann and Rosemary McBratnie, who stumbles upon the island of Illyria after a shipwreck that separates her from her brother, Sebastian, played by senior Dean Casey. 

The plot thickens when Viola decides to disguise herself as a man, Cesario, in order to work for Orsino, played by junior Liam McBride, a wealthy duke who pines for countess Olivia. Olivia, who is played by seniors Sidney Allen and Simone Thursby, has spent forever denying Orsino’s love, but when she meets Cesario, the disguised Viola, she falls in love with him instead of Orsino. 

As the characters struggle to figure out who they’re actually falling in love with, they also interact with the group of street performers, headed by Feste and played by senior Mackenzie Norcutt and junior Katie Whitehead, who stir up trouble while also adding a certain level of pizazz to the show. 

“I am obsessed with this show,” Dann said. “I think it’s so fun and magical and funny. All of the characters have their own special story, and they all cross over in a topsy turny night that’s so entertaining.”

Director Alex Burkart echoed Dann’s statement, explaining how the production was designed to purposely bring the joy factor. “We wanted a street fair, very free love, free music, very Bohemian in the approach. We came up with [the] street performers and things like that to help inject life into it,” he said. 

In the design process, Burkart and seniors Nola Thompson and Evan Roosa were heavily involved. As the scenic designer, Thompson spent their time over the summer drafting a plan for the set, which was designed to look like Bourbon Street in Louisiana, and Roosa, as the head of construction, worked to then build the set. 

“I wanted [the audience] to feel excited, because I don’t want them to think ‘Shakespeare, it’s so boring and I don’t even understand it.’ I want them to come in and feel invited in, so that they’re more willing to get immersed in Shakespeare,” Thompson said. “If the set is immersive, the acting is immersive.” 

While there were some concerns with presenting a Shakespeare play to high school students, the troupe aimed to make the play special and colorful to draw audiences in. Throughout the rehearsal process, actors focused on immersing themselves into their characters, in order to perform to the best of their ability. 

Rehearsals started in early September, and actors worked with Burkart and the stage management team to successfully block and format the show. 

“Preparing for the show is a really fun collaborative process in which actors work extensively with our director and the show’s associate directors to block the show and run scenes everyday, slowly stitching together the show,” Thursby said. 

Additionally, the actors and stage managers work together with the crew to make sure everything flows smoothly. “The cast and crew are both essential, and there would be no show without either one,” Thursby said.

See moments from the play below.