The play tells the story of a magician named Prospero (played by senior Daniel Spiotta) a former duke who is exiled on an island with his daughter Miranda (played by sophomore Maran McLeod). Prospero conjures up a tempest to bring the two men who plotted against him to the island where he is stranded.
The play, which is believed to be Shakespeare’s last, is a serious play, but in many ways a comedy nonetheless.
“You can’t do a tragedy at the end of the semester,” said junior Audrey Gray, co-director of the play. “Because everybody is already wallowing in papers and finals. Nobody wants to see something sad when their lives look like that.”
Gray is directing the play along with senior Alex Tiren. Both said they loved working with the actors.
“We are very satisfied with the cast we chose,” said Gray. “They all work very hard and are quite talented.”
Freshman Tomás Valle, who plays Antonio, a character he describes as “the only thoroughly villainous villain” said he is excited about the talent the actors have shown.
“I think the roles have been cast such that people really fit their roles,” Valle said. “So I think that’s going to make for a really convincing play.”
Both Tiren and Gray said the music they chose will constitute a key part of the performance.
“Music is a really important part of Shakespearian drama.” Tiren said. “It’s a restorative, and usually it’s the method of drawing distraught souls back from the edge of despair.”
Freshman Jeffrey Gaiser composed the music for the performance. Gray said she and Tiren sat down with Gaiser one afternoon to talk about what kinds of moods they wanted to create for each scene. Sitting at his keyboard, Gaiser bounced melody ideas off of them as they explained what they were looking for.
In the end, Gaiser composed four different original melodies for the performance.
Tiren says he is looking forward to the performance, and other students should be too.
“They should go see it first because it’s Shakespeare, second because it’s Shakespeare, and third because it really is just a fantastic story,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s Shakespeare’s meditation on grace.”
The performances will take place in the Slayton Arboretum on Friday at 5:30 pm and Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
dslonim@hillsdale.edu
