Preparing for the AP Lit Plays

Brady Rust page editor

AP test season takes place mostly during the first half of May. For Sheldon’s AP Literature class, that means they have the last six weeks of the school year to put on a theatrical production. The two periods of the AP Literature class are putting on separate plays, one of which is a play the class has already read, and the other is entirely new to most of the students. This creates an interesting dynamic for both the students and the teacher, Andrew Cabrera, as they all attempt to put on a respectable performance within a very limited amount of preparation time.

“King Lear,” “an epic and bloody tale of ambition, betrayal and madness,” as described by AP Lit teacher Cabrera, follows a king handing down his kingdom to his daughters, which indirectly causes his descent into madness. This year’s performance will take place on June 13 at 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium.

Preparing for her big role as Queen Lear, junior Taylor Bittle has had a lot of work on her plate leading up to her performance. Bittle shared, “I feel pretty prepared; there’s still more work I need to do before the day of the performance, but I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of this character as well as acting in general.” Although this is not Bittle’s first time acting, all characters are vastly different and require both time and effort to remain true to one’s character when performance time comes.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a “comic tale of desire, trickery, and spectacular silliness, sprinkled with magic and fairies and donkey heads,” according to Cabrera. The play follows an intertwined group of Athenians and Fairies, in which mischievous plots of romance are employed by magic. This year’s performance will take place on June 12 at 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium.

Enjoying his time acting in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” junior Ben Krebbs has been able to gain experience in acting. Explaining the difference between his current role and past performances he has been involved with, Krebbs said, “This is not my first time acting, although comparing what I have done to Shakespeare, there is a big difference, in that it takes a lot longer to memorize specific lines, whether from how old the language is and the different/unusual sentence structures, or just bigger monologues.” Krebbs credits this year’s rendition as entertaining and short, also noting that he gets turned into a donkey within the play.

This year’s AP Lit plays have taken an interesting turn compared to previous years, and everyone should see them, not only for entertainment, but to support fellow Sheldon classmates. Everyone has put in a lot of work into these plays, and they are confident they can put on a viable performance comparable to years past.

Johnson said, “I think going into the game everyone doubted us in some aspects, but the game showed what happens when you put in that extra work to get better and become more of a team, which pays off because in the end we capped off with a win.” Despite not having the outcome that was anticipated, the graduating seniors hope that this exciting event continues to be a tradition for the Sheldon students for many years to come.