The Illinois Wesleyan’s School of Theater Arts wowed audiences with their performance of “Romeo and Juliet.”
The show drew IWU students, faculty and members of the Bloomington-Normal community to the Jerome Mirza Theater on IWU’s campus.
Directed by acting and film professor Tom Quinn, the Shakespeare adaptation ran from Wednesday, October 8, to Sunday, October 12.
One of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays, “Romeo and Juliet” follows the story of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two young lovers who meet at a party and later marry in secret, only to be torn apart multiple times until the story ends in tragedy.
The show featured a simple set, which put the focus on the actors. Sophomore music theater majors Joshua Wilson and Molly Oien helped work on the set but weren’t able to see the finished product until the show opened.
“I walked into the audience, and it was the first thing I noticed,” Wilson said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is beautiful. It looks so real.’”
Juliet was played by junior acting major Mia Marthaler, and a gender-swapped Romeo was played by senior acting major Gabriella Rosen.
“They made you believe that they were young kids, and it just made the ending so much more devastating,” Oien said.
Because “Romeo and Juliet” is such a well-known story, Oien said it was even more impressive that the actors brought the characters to life in such an engaging way.
Illinois Wesleyan faculty member Carolyn Nadeau said Juliet’s character was one of her favorite parts of the production. “Mia’s interpretation was so compelling,” the Spanish professor said.
One actor, Bess Chamley, had a less than traditional role in “Romeo and Juliet’s” production. She found out she would be in the show about two hours before the final dress rehearsal. “I was very impressed by Bess,” Oien said.
While professor and director Tom Quinn was originally set to play Friar Laurence, the cleric who offers both Romeo and Juliet guidance throughout the play, a leave for illness put the spotlight on Chamley, the show’s assistant director.
“I was in SAGA with my roommates, and I got an email from the Director of SoTA with her phone number and a message to call me. As you can expect, I was terrified, since I had no idea what this was about,” said Chamley, a sophomore theater arts major. The call told her that she would have to perform in Quinn’s place.
As the assistant director, Chamley worked with Quinn on the show’s script and took notes on rehearsals to improve all aspects of the production, from acting to tech. This meant she was very familiar with the script itself once she was “promoted” to the role of the Friar.
Chamley had one night to rehearse, and then it was time to take the stage. She was able to read off of a script on stage, but it was barely noticeable to the audience.
“Not only did she do it, she did it on the same level everyone else was at,” Oien said.
Chamley said even though the role came as a surprise, she still enjoyed playing the part.
“The performances were truly some of the most fun I’ve ever had. I got to be in a show without all of the stress of rehearsal or trying to memorize my lines, but I still had the amount of fun stress that you get from performing,” Chamley said. Quinn was supposed to return after opening night, but a longer leave than expected put the role on Chamley’s shoulders for the show’s five-day run.
Chamley said she consulted friends who had seen “Romeo and Juliet” on what to improve as the production went on, and she became more comfortable by the last few performances.
“I didn’t walk on stage with the goal to give an intense performance, simply to be a stepping stone for the other actors around me. I guess seeing their intense passion made me want to try my hardest to keep up,” Chamley said. She also said the rest of the cast made her new role much easier and were more than willing to help her.
“Tom’s vision came to fruition,” Oien said.
With the closing of “Romeo and Juliet” on October 12, SoTA now shifts their focus to their next production. “Execution of Justice” will be directed by visiting assistant professor of theater arts RJ Hodde and will run from October 30 to November 2 in the E. Melba Kirkpatrick Laboratory Theatre in Presser Hall.
