Every school year, I look forward to the biannual productions by the MHS Theatre department: the fall musical and the spring play. Of all the plays I have seen here, “The Tempest” was actually the most enjoyable to watch.
All of the actors and actresses had commendable enunciation. I could easily understand what they were saying, and thus, I was able to follow the plot more closely than in other productions.
Hearing was not a problem for me this time, like it was for the previous productions I watched. However, my seating position may have influenced this because I was lucky enough to get a front-row seat.
Senior Simeon Alojipan (Prospero) was a great lead actor. I have seen him play three different roles in three different productions, and although his first two roles were more comical, he still managed to convince me that he was a distinguished, virtuous magician in “The Tempest.”
Having the extra stage add-on was a great idea because it put focus on the main speaker(s) of the scene. It allowed major characters to literally step out, be seen, and heard better.
The best chemistry was found in the scenes with Seniors Jonathan To (Stephano), Alex Driggers (Caliban), and Connor McGarry (Trinculo). The dialogue was easy to follow and was not overpowered by exaggeration of expression, and they noticeably received the most audience response through laughter and applause.
Senior Kristin Lingle (Ariel) was also convincing as an actress. She had the serious, submissive tone that Ariel is expected to have. She portrayed the servant’s powers in a well-fashioned manner.
I was also extremely impressed with the makeup for the spirits and mariners. They were noticeable but not too flashy; they portrayed a strong, wild look.
Though the costumes for the spirits were a bit questionable, adding the beards for the lords were a great touch. It added the dignity and age that clean faces would not have had.
Simple, bright lighting helped with visualizing who to focus on throughout the play. It allowed the audience to follow the major speakers and see what the director intended on focusing on.
The one thing that distracted me in the play was Junior Diane Valencia’s (Miranda) constant hair flipping and lip pouting. These are trivial details, but they took a bit away from the overall shy, reserved character of Miranda.
Some of the drier scenes were those including the King of Naples and his men. They were not as deceitful or cunning as I would have liked to see. However, I commend the actors for even having the courage to perform Shakespeare in front of hundreds of people.
Overall, “The Tempest” was one of the best high school plays I have seen. The cast was well-picked, and almost everybody had great volume and pronunciation. It was obvious that a lot of time and effort was put into this production.
