“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

(Shakespeare, The Tempest).

On April 5, the sophomore class attended Shakespeare’s The Tempest, performed by the New Art Theatre at Saint Anselm’s College.

The students did not read the written play before seeing the production, but the teachers had other reasons to include it in their lesson plans this year. Lauren Girolimon, a sophomore English teacher, said the play was to “enhance the [Shakespeare unit].” Girolimon also commented that “some of the English classes had activities related to the play prior to the performance, and others didn’t, but all the students attended a claymation video of the play in the auditorium so they would have greater background of the play prior to seeing it.”

Ann Melim, another English teacher at HBHS, said “[The purpose] was to expose them to Shakespeare and for the experience,” echoing Girolimon’s sentiment of furthering student learning and building off of past Shakespeare experiences.

The students gave mixed reviews of The Tempest, not because of the plot itself, but because of the way it was produced. “I had never seen a Shakespeare play before, but I enjoyed it very much. My favorite part of going to see the play was being able to ask the actors questions at the end,” said Michael Gillespie ‘19. Conversely, Connor Zorn ‘19 voiced a different opinion on production features, saying, “It felt lower budget. [The play] wasn’t up to par with my past play experiences. I haven’t read the book and I do not plan to, but some parts I felt were well done, but others were lacking. The first part was well put together, but the second part was not.”

The teachers did not comment on whether this will become a yearly field trip, but after a successful, culture boosting experience for the students, it might become an annual tradition.