Tuesday, March 19th, Sandpoint High School students gathered in the auditorium to watch a live production of the Shakespearean classic, As You Like It.  

Receiving funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Idaho Shakespeare Festival travels to schools across the state putting on performances of classic Shakespeare pieces.

“They try to focus on popular plays. We’ve had Othello here, we’ve had Hamlet, we’ve had MacBeth, so they scope down plays that are about three hours in length into an hour so that people can see it in a class period,” English teacher Pam Webb said.

Webb believes that this production held value for participating students, noting that the experience provides them with the opportunity to connect with the work.

“I enjoy that people get to see a live production,” Webb said. “They also get to see talented young people dedicate themselves to travelling on the road and for those who are out there who enjoy acting, or like the theatre, or maybe have never really seen a live play before, I love to see their faces when they go ‘wow, this is really cool’.”

Webb shares how this experience distinguishes the work of live theatre and allows the audience to interact with the play.

“In a film, you’re seeing what a camera eye wants you to see. So, when it’s live theatre, you’re very much engaged and it’s magical how you’re involved because you see how someone else is reacting,” said Webb.

Jenna Dotson, senior, shares how Shakespearience makes these classic works more enjoyable.

“I felt like it was one of the really good interpretations of a Shakespeare play, like most of the time they’re always not so hot, but Shakespearience is always really fantastic and they do a really good job of making it funny, but also serious,” Dotson said.