In the weeks leading up to WT’s renditions of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, we interviewed a group cast, crew, and tech members on their contributions to the upper school play.  In addition to uploading the interviews to YouTube, we have created this list of highlights to promote the show. Enjoy! 

In an interview with a cast member, Zoé (Prospera), she outlined the lengthy process she went through to prepare for her role.

What was it like preparing for the role?

“Hard is the answer, very, very, very hard. This is definitely the biggest role I’ve ever played.  What I did was over my winter break I had every day I would spend at least three hours writing out each of my lines and studying them and just repeating them over and over again.”

Liam, who wrote and recorded all of the music for the production, had this to say about what.

What was your musical inspiration?

“Nothing, actually, I took liberty in genre-blending throughout many different decades.  I have a couple [of] songs that are very orchestral that are built very precisely from charts, and I have one that is like a sailor’s tune, and then another one that is a straight rock song, another one that is a power ballad, another one which is a modern-day electronic song.”

Another cast member, Aria (Juno), spoke with us about her first experience doing the high school play.

Do you have a favorite scene?

“No, I think that each scene has something different about it and so I think together the show is going to be really amazing, it’s hard to tell right now because we’re still rehearsing, but I’m excited for it.”

Lighting and sound crew members, Max and Rocco, spoke with us about why they think lighting and sound are integral to this production.

How does the lighting and the effects elevate the show?

Max: “Well you could watch the show in broad daylight in an outdoor amphitheater and all you have is what the crew tells you and where they are on stage, but with lighting, you have the blackouts, the different colors, the effects; it gives it a nice flow.”

Rocco: “For this show, it really does add an extra level of magic to it because it is a more whimsical, magical show. The effects really do bring a new life to it. In the tempest especially, the storm is kind of its own entity. Using technology we can make that almost a [human character]. 

Finally, we sat down with Ms. Holmes to discuss the lasting impacts of this production.

What do you want people to take away from this show?

“A lot of works that were written way back in the day can still be relevant. They still have a lot to offer, we can learn a lot from them. Shakespeare can be accessible, and it can be very enjoyable, the comedies can actually be funny. The tragedies can actually pull at your heart-strings.”