It's not every elementary student who gets to dress up in Shakespearean costumes, study the works of William Shakespeare, learn about the Elizabethan Period and put on a Shakespeare play, but that's exactly what students at Reid School, 2965 E. 3435 South in Salt Lake County, did.
The private school's entire student body, from preschoolers to ninth-graders, participated in a schoolwide Shakespeare festival the week of April 3-7, culminating with the performance of a modified version of "Twelfth Night" by fourth- through ninth-grade students.
Parents like that the festival includes everyone.
"I think it's wonderful the whole school is part of it," said Margo Watson, whose daughter, Tabitha, was in the play. "This school has a high level of expectation out of each child. . . . Their philosophy here is in everything challenge them, and they will rise to the level."
Ethna Reid, the school's principal, loves teaching the students about Shakespeare.
"It's marvelous to expose them to Shakespeare, and it's a highlight for students," she said.
Students who performed the play have been working on it since December, when auditions were held. Those with more than 10 lines of script took their parts home to memorize over the Christmas break, said Shauna Tateoka, a teacher at the school who produced the play.
To help them become more engaged in the festival, students learned about subjects relating to Shakespeare including his life, the time period in which he lived, what plays he wrote, as well as the political situations in his plays. Preschoolers sang before the play. First-graders danced around the May pole, and second- and third-graders learned medieval dances during the week.
Hollie Crosby, 13, who played Olivia in "Twelfth Night," said she enjoys Shakespeare's plays because the words just flow. Friend Tabitha Watson, 13, who played Maria, said she loved the costumes and what she learned.
"I learned that you have to work to make sure you get it down," she said. "You have to get the emotions and blockers, and it's not all that easy. It's not just actions."
Over the years, the school has done 12 Shakespeare plays, including "MacBeth," "Hamlet," "Julius Caesar," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Taming of the Shrew."
Every year the school invites Florin Nelson, who used to be the director for East High School, to be a guest director for the play. Tateoka said Nelson brings a professional background to directing and helps the students get more into character by teaching them to consider their character's type, what emotions the character might be experiencing, etc. He also helps them with diction.
Tateoka said although doing the play every year is difficult for students, they always do well.
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com