Chantilly High School's drama department trekked through the snow to their annual Folger's one-act play festival this past February. Folger's Shakespeare Library, complete with an authentic Elizabethan theater, is located in Washington, D.C. This library holds the largest selection of Shakespeare's written work in the world. Folger's holds daily festivals in the winter and spring for students to show off prepared 30-minute excerpts from a Shakespearean play. Chantilly returned with four well-earned awards. Shannon Spicer, a theater teacher, at Chantilly chose "A Taming of the Shrew," a story that revolves around Kate, a shrew, and a man in search of a large dowry, Petruchio. Emily Bever, a senior at Chantilly, played Kate and received the coveted Excellence in Acting award. When asked of her role, Emily stated, "It was at first a little difficult to make sure I wasn't coming off as a cliché shrew and after that it was fun. It was unlike myself to be someone totally different."
Chantilly drama department, known for its excellent ensemble work, was honored with the Bryan Cabe Award, named after a past committed and hard working actor in the Folger program. An obvious reason the ensemble was honored was because of the hard work put into the act by Ms. Spicer with her direction. "It was difficult to condense Shakespeare. It took a lot of time to break down the language and make it relevant to modern language, although this is what ultimately helped the students to understand their parts," she said.
Along with Emily's achievement, Ryan Plavnieks was acknowledged for his precise clarity, voice and character. Peter Larson was recognized for his daring stage combat.
Watch out when Chantilly takes a break from Shakespeare and puts on the drama, "I Remember Mama" in May.