REXBURG – Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is coming to BYU-Idaho’s Snow Drama Theatre this November.
Students in the Department of Theatre are working hard to prepare for the opening. Auditions were held during spring semester, but some of the production crew have been meeting since February.
“It's amazing to just see us all come together with so many different ideas,” said Savill Jensen, the co-scenic designer for the play.
Jensen says the set she helped design is very traditional, with inspiration coming from architecture like the Globe Theatre in England where Shakespeare’s plays debuted.
“We're taking a lot of inspiration from architecture at the time,” Jensen said. “And I can't say much for the directing side of things, but things are looking very, very dramatic, very classical. It's going to be incredible.”
On a different side of things, Emma Nichols, the student stage manager for “Romeo and Juliet,” is responsible for coordinating all the departments working on the show.
“It's kind of a big step for me, and it's a little scary because I'm like, ‘Oh, something's going to go wrong,’” Nichols said.
As the production crew works on the show, they incorporate all those different elements like staging, music and costumes together.
Jensen says the play’s director, Justin Bates, gave them a metaphor to help them tie together all their work on the play.
“‘Romeo and Juliet’ is like a blue flame,” Jensen said. “It's this instantaneous destructive event. It burns bright, it burns hot, burns fast, and it leaves utter destruction in its wake.”
Both Jensen and Nichols feel like the story of “Romeo and Juliet” has a lot to give.
“What happens when two sides of society just butt heads way too much, and it has a huge cost,” Nichols said. “A lot of people focus so much on the love story, but it's a lot bigger than that.”
BYU-Idaho’s Department of Theatre opens its performance of “Romeo and Juliet” on Friday, Nov. 6. It runs through Saturday, Nov. 14. The shows are at 7:30 p.m. in the Snow Drama Theatre, with 2 p.m. matinees on Nov. 7 and 14.
To learn more or get tickets, go to the BYU-Idaho Ticket Office.