As the curtains open, dimmed purple lights reflect upon the Little Theater stage, revealing the student cast of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Set in a fantastical world, two young lovers fall for each other, facing consequences from their families. Behind the scenes is a story of teamwork and passion.

Presented by the Patriot Theatre Company, the performance of Romeo and Juliet by freshmen and sophomores took place on Feb. 2-4. To prepare for the performance, the team worked diligently for months, completing tasks such as setting up the stage, understanding Shakespearean dialogues, learning to operate light controls and practicing dancing and fighting scenes.

According to the cast, the process was time-consuming and came with its own set of challenges. Many commented on the importance of building close bonds within the cast, whose characters played out sensitive scenes in the play. Serena Varghese ’26, who played the role of Juliet, shared her own sets of challenges while acting out Juliet.

“The death scene was difficult for me, because it’s a movement that has a very big role in the play,” Varghese said. “Hopefully [the scene] looks realistic to the audience.”

Apart from the actors, the crew set up building blocks for cast members to express themselves in the play. It is essential to build a secure stage environment to keep everyone safe on set, in the meantime encourage communicative teamwork. Stage Manager Rayaan Shaik ’25 commented on the measures taken to set up scenes coherent with the script and ensure the play ran smoothly.

“I’m in charge of the light, sound, water cues, each character’s position and entrances on stage,” Shaik said. “The timing for controlling these is very important because it can have an impact on the mood of the scene. No matter if you [were] cast or crew, we all had to fully explore the world of Romeo and Juliet.”

Besides setting up the stage, students also needed to understand the intricacies of Shakespearean language as they formed the script into stage dialogues. Also, practice scripts and memorize them scene by scene. Director Joey Fitzpatrick paid close attention to these details in hopes of presenting Shakespeare’s work accurately.

“[We] looked at the text and analyzed punctuation [in order to] understand how [Shakespeare’s] language should be used,” Fitzpatrick said. “A comma means a pause between the lines that is different in expression compared to an exclamation mark.”

For Fitzpatrick, students’ analysis of Shakespearean language and characters enhanced the quality of their performances. Karina Yochem ’25, who played the character Mercutio—Romeo’s best friend—was proud to convey the character’s energy to the audience.

“Mercutio is a very high-energy character, a goofball that is hard to portray when I’m low-energy after a long day,” Yochem said. “Making people laugh through live theater is very special because some people might be going through difficult times. Bringing the fun energy to them is what I live for.”

Through exploring the world of Romeo and Juliet, the students developed their own understanding of the work, connecting the essence of the story and the characters back to their own lives. Varghese came up with her own meaning of the play and emphasizes the play’s significance to Stevenson students.

“Juliet is only 13—she doesn’t know a lot about the world, yet she has a passion for everything and makes sure her voice is heard,” Varghese said. “That’s something I like to incorporate into my daily life as well. This play shows that love can be found even in generational hatred, and we shouldn’t judge people solely based on which party they belong to.”

Romeo and Juliet is not just a romance story, but also a story of friendship, religion, rivalry and destiny. Cast and crew members believe that it has relevance to the current world as it shows how love overpowers the pressure to conform to societal norms.

“I think a lot of people think Shakespeare is overly dramatic, but it’s really a play that stands the test of time,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s important because it gives teens a voice, and talks about the power of empathy and love.”