Four Nights of Twelfth Night

by Erica Irving - Montgomery Blair High School

Printed in the Potomac Almanac, Oct. 2005

 

Thunder crashes. A ship is trapped at the mercy of the waves as sailors try desperately to keep her afloat. With a sickening crack, the vessel begins to break. The deck tilts. The crew and passengers plummet into the stormy sea. All is lost, save one young woman, Viola, and a few bedraggled sailors who risked everything rescue her. So begins Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare’s most expertly crafted comedies, and Montgomery Blair High School’s fall production.

The play chronicles Viola’s experiences in Illyria, the seaside town where she finds herself stranded. Unsure of how to proceed, she disguises herself as a boy and finds work in the home of Duke Orsino. The Duke is smitten with the fair Countess Olivia, who will have none of him. He recruits the disguised Viola to help win her heart, unaware that his “pageboy” is beginning to fall for him.

Meanwhile, the quirky characters of Olivia’s household are making mischief, playing a trick on the priggish steward, Malvolio, and dealing with romantic troubles of their own. Throughout the antics, however, Viola continues to hope that her twin brother, Sebastian, was also delivered from a watery demise.

The Montgomery Blair Players’ presentation of Twelfth Night is a melting pot in all its aspects: people, places, and prose. Director Kelly O’Connor has assembled a cast of multicultural performers, who come to the project with varying levels of experience. Some, like junior Zoe Blackbourne, who plays Viola, are performing in their first plays on the Blair stage. Others are adding Twelfth Night to long theatrical resumes.

Additionally, the play was written around 1601, but Blair’s production is set during the elegant Victorian era. Mrs. O’Connor feels that this chronological shift will give modern audiences a better understanding of Illyria’s rigid social structure without compromising the integrity of Shakespeare’s work. The Victorian milieu is created by an onstage musical ensemble, as well as elaborate sets and costumes. Most importantly, the text itself combines an abundance of elements, seamlessly weaving drama, romance, adventure, slapstick, and wit into a captivating story which is brought to life to by the dedication and ingenuity of Montgomery Blair High School’s theatrical community.

Twelfth Night will be performed on November 4, 5, 11 & 12 at 7:30 pm. Montgomery Blair High School is located at 51 University Boulevard East in Silver Spring, MD.