Upper School drama students challenge themselves with each production, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] was a wilder ride than most and did not disappoint. The play, written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, parodies the plays of William Shakespeare, with all of them performed in comically shortened or merged forms by only a few actors.
The production, held in the Vincent Price Theatre, was an extremely irreverent take on the works of the Bard, re-imagined as if written as a cable news crawl and performed by Monty Python at the pace of a thrash metal concert. The original script contains humorous footnotes that are often not included in the performance, leading to a heavy lean on improvisation and script deviations referencing pop culture and local people and places.
The show included a nonexistent fourth wall, which called for a fair amount of audience participation. Our young actors enjoyed having faculty attend their dress rehearsals as a small but discerning audience to prepare for the full performances. Even the stage crew became characters!
“I have never participated in a production quite like this,” said Eli Meissner ’26, who was relatively new to playing comedic roles. “It was incredible to establish such an intimate connection with the audience and be able to see and hear their enjoyment. One of the most challenging parts of the play was understanding the underlying Shakespearean references. It is very important to understand this because it helped us deliver our lines in a more understandable way to the general audience. I enjoyed the familial dynamic of our cast and crew; there was mutual respect and appreciation for our accomplishments and always somebody to make sure you were committing yourself to the play.”
Grant Krainik ’27 was one of six cast members who jumped aboard the Bard’s merry-go-round. “Complete Works was an incredibly fun experience. Sure, the task of learning lines and remembering blocking could get monotonous at times, and it did hurt quite a bit (for context, I have to fall down ten times and [fake] puke six times each show), but it has been the most fun I’ve had during a theatrical production. As a freshman interested in theater, the Complete Works was an incredible introduction to the theatrical scene on campus. I also just really enjoyed hanging around people with my same interests. The most challenging part was definitely how quickly during the show we had to go offstage, change character, and then immediately run back on. The whole show was essentially a theater marathon. You had to be ready to enter, and when you left, nine times out of ten, you would be immediately back on as a different character. My biggest takeaway from the show is that, no matter how hard you try, you can never truly achieve perfection. On each of our performance days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), something small went wrong. These imperfections didn’t ruin the show. In fact, I’m pretty sure (or at least I hope) that they were unnoticeable. Also, I got to keep a prop severed head. His name is Mac,” he said.
Anik Jukanti ’25 enjoyed working with all the people on the production. “Compared to other productions we’ve done, this was completely different. It had a more comedy show vibe since we had audience participation, and it was overall really fun. We all became really close throughout the production, and we still keep in touch.”
As a first-timer, Ava Casillas ’26 found challenge and excitement in the experience. She said, “This is my first production at MICDS and my first time performing as a cast member in a play ever. Being a part of the cast was a new and challenging opportunity for me, but still one I was really excited about. I loved the unconventional format of the play and the experimental nature each rehearsal held in terms of ‘finding the funny’ and adding our own touches as a cast. I’m grateful I was able to work on such a funny and meta play with some really talented people.”
Robyn Davies ’26 was delighted to be part of this distinctive play. “The production came with the unique challenge of first unpacking the Shakespearean jokes for ourselves before translating them for audiences, but the cast and crew were more than ready to take on this project. Whether running Hamlet backward, debating the best time for a rubber chicken to squawk, or bonding over broken retractable knives, producing this show was full of laughter and fun,” she said.
Patrick Huber, Upper School Arts Teacher and Director of Complete Works, said, “A great time was had by the cast, crew, and our full house of audiences for the three performances. The students who spent a few quality weeks making fun of Shakespeare will have a lifetime of easter eggs as they encounter the plays we referenced in this show.”
Well done, MICDS thespians, “The rest is silence,” [said Hamlet]!
Check out the full production program here. Photos by Patrick Huber, Virginia Portell ’24, and Morgan Macam ’26.