On Wednesday, February 22nd eighth grade students on the Swain Campus traveled to New York City to see & Juliet on Broadway.

In February, eighth grade Humanities studied the Romeo and Juliet Literature Unit! Students read, analyzed, and performed this beloved play by William Shakespeare. Students were excited to dive deep into the history of Shakespeare, decipher the play’s language and themes, and most importantly, learn and practice the craft of performing the play! For this unit, the class also studied adaptations of Romeo and Juliet including films, graphic novels, and live performances. 

To fully immerse students in this unit, Ms. Coffey teamed up with Drama teacher, Ms. Donaher. Together, they took a field trip to New York City to see the Broadway production, And Juliet on Wednesday, February 22nd. 

In conjunction with the studies in humanities, the third trimester for Theatre Arts introduced eighth grade to the intricacy of performing the script of Romeo and Juliet and talking about how to embody notorious characters. Students will work on scenes, memorization, and character development. They will be challenged to not only understand the language themselves, but make it clear to the audience what they are saying.  The value of Shakespeare in a classroom is infinite as students learn to understand humanity from his point of view and showcase that humanity on stage.