93rd Annual Class IV Shakespeare Production

May 16, 2024—With giggles and gusto, the Class of 2028 presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This year’s production took two forms, with one show set in the Renaissance and the other in a 1930s circus. A Class IV tradition, the shows mark the 93rd annual Shakespeare production at Winsor. 

The Winsor community enjoyed the comedy over two days with shows during all-school assembly, Lower School community time, and a double header evening performance for families featuring both productions. 

Preparing for two shows simultaneously and then performing in back-to-back productions is a lot of work that comes with big benefits. Performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream in two settings allows students to engage with the content in both historical and modern ways and see William Shakespeare’s relevance today. With two shows, students are also able to alternate roles so that everyone gets a chance to perform as part of the cast and then support the other show behind the scenes with set, costumes, or music. This onstage and backstage holistic look at theater is a bonding experience for students that creates lasting memories well into their alum years.

Whether students were performing in the big top or in the forest, they brought to life Shakespeare’s story of love and mischief with sword fights, circus tricks, and dramatic deaths. Using physical comedy to their advantage, actors became clingy, obsessed lovers, collided into each other, and strutted about in a donkey head.

A Winsor tradition dating back to 1931, the Class IV Shakespeare play is a culmination of interdisciplinary learning between English, acting, theater, music, and costume courses. In celebration of their hard work and in honor of the Bard of Avon, Class IV families mingled at a reception organized by the Winsor Parents’ Association after back-to-back shows on Thursday night, while the cast and crew enjoyed a festive lunch and cast party on Friday. 

Brava to the Class IV cast and crew who managed all aspects of the production, including set design, lighting, stage managing, costume creation, and live music. A special thank you to Head of Performing Arts Felicia Brady-Lopez, Theater Director Jeremy Johnson, Technical Director  Andres Puigbo, Costume Designer Jessica Pribble, Music Director Andrew Marshall, Dance Faculty Ann-Marie Ciaraldi, Class IV Coordinators Josh Constant and Emily Moran, and all the Class IV faculty who helped make this wonderful production possible.