“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances”

                                                 (As You Like It II, 7,139-141)                   

One of the key components of the Schuler Scholar Program is the variety of cultural events to which the scholars are exposed.  Most recently, Schuler scholars traveled to an Uptown Chicago Theatre to see a staged production of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. The small theatre, seating no more than 100 people, with a thrust stage is a common sight in Chicago, and the perfect environment in which to experience this great playwright.

The words of William Shakespeare give much insight into the way his plays should be experienced. Students are usually introduced to their first Shakespeare play early in high school and their reception of the work is varied and, far too often, negative. The complaints come in a variety of forms usually referencing some aspect of the difficulty of the language in which the play is written. The solution, however, is simple. Shakespeare never wrote his plays to be read, he wrote them to be seen. When the play is acted out, the audience quickly forgets that it is not being spoken in modern English because the mind adjusts to the rhythmic iambic pentameter of all Shakespearean writing. It is this natural and musical rhythm that is so pleasing to the ear and does not take the brain very long to adjust.

Laughter filled the theatre as scholars understood the witty humor that they would not have imagined existed from simply reading black words on a white page. Laughter that told, what no amount of testing could, how fully the scholars grasped the play.

After the play was over, the scholars participated in a time of question and answer with the actors who were friendly and eager to share their experiences and views with the scholars. The actors were sincere and engaging as they answered the scholars’ questions about the way they prepare for a show, the amount of time it takes and what they love most about theatre. Several of the actors stated specifically what a pleasure it was for them to be in a Shakespearian play because of the way it is written. They said that because of its rhythmic metering it is actually easier to memorize Shakespearian language than it is to memorize lines from a play written in plain English.   

Having been to Phantom of the Opera on Broadway in Chicago already this year and as they will be going to The Barber of Seville at the Lyric Opera later this spring, Schuler scholars are being exposed to the entire spectrum of theatre and the performing arts. A stage production of such high caliber in such an intimate setting gave the scholars a first-hand look at what is considered to be one of the greatest forms of the performing arts.

There is nothing like seeing a great work by one of the greatest writers of the English language brought to life by a talented group of actors dedicated to the original authenticity of the playwright himself. It is an experience that cannot be replaced with any amount of curriculum or reading material; it must be seen to be believed.