TOWAMENCIN- After viewing the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s depiction of Hamlet, seniors, Thespians, and faculty members were given the opportunity to unearth the true meanings of William Shakespeare’s words. Often, famous playwrights are attempted to be analyzed in a classroom; however, it proves to be better understood with a visual performance. The whole company presented an outstanding performance that enlightened the audience’s souls and enriched their minds on a story of love, betrayal, and revenge.

To think that this year students would have lost the chance to see such a talented cast perform an iconic show sounds preposterous, as many people look forward to the annual performance. Luckily, Mrs. Colleen Felder, North Penn’s English, British Literature, and Gifted Mentorship teacher, responded to the need to contact the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival to schedule a date for the performance. She contacted the North Penn Educational Foundation for a grant to raise enough money to host the gifted actors of Hamlet. Although Felder was slightly nervous of the possibility that the grant wouldn’t be given, the grant awarded NPHS with the gift of true American theatre.

Sharing her appreciation of the famous playwright, Felder explained that all the magic happens when one decodes Shakespeare’s words and discovers the deeper meaning.

“Shakespeare is just as daunting to me as anybody else,” explained Felder.“You start to realize that these are real people with real emotions; there’s so many different layers that are incredibly modern, then you can really appreciate Hamlet.”

This is what Felder and countless other English teachers try to teach their students. Although the language may seem a bit histrionic and baffling, when students understand it, the appreciation for William Shakespeare becomes extraordinary. Felder is grateful towards the North Penn Educational Foundation for funding the interest in drama and for bringing such opportunities to North Penn.

Despite the typical teenage views of Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s words mean something different to everyone. To many actors, they become one with the words. Theatre isn’t just their career; theatre is what they love doing. Mitchel Kawash, who portrayed Layertes and First Player, grew up “[making his] brothers put on plays with [him] in the garage and made [his] parents watch them.”

Brandon Meeks also reminisced on his first experiences with acting.

“I had a tendency to act out everything I saw on television,” stated Meeks. “I never thought I would be an actor until I took a theatre arts class and thought that I was just going to go for it!”

Similarly, actor Alan Grant (Marcellus, Rosencrantz/ Player King/ Priest/ Lord) was introduced to theatre through his teacher, his father, and lots of Saturday Night Live. With interesting childhoods like that, why would these actors perform in a Shakespeare play?

Grant’s answer is simple: “Shakespeare’s got everything!”

After the powerful performance, the theatre students had the opportunity to participate in one on one workshops with the actors in hopes of bettering their acting and understanding of Shakespeare’s plays and language. According to Kawash, teaching the workshops makes the actors “enthusiastic about teaching because [students] want to learn.”

“It’s a very specific skillset to communicate, and that’s what I enjoy about it,” added Meeks. “It really is a treat for a lot of students because there are a lot of theatre programs that don’t teach things.”