The St. Pelagia’s Players Production of The Tempest

(Photo: Frances Meng-Frecker)

By: Allison Upchurch, Staff Reporter

Last weekend, Regis’ Shakespeare group, the St. Pelagia’s Players, performed their production of one of William Shakespeare’s final plays, The Tempest, in the Claver Recital Hall. For a more in-depth look at the players and the creation of the show, click here for the Highlander’s exclusive coverage.

In this specific production of The Tempest, a duchess named Prospera, played by Court Huston, has escaped with her daughter Miranda, played by freshman Alana LeBaron, to an island after her family tried to kill her and take her magic powers. In retaliation for the act, Prospera calls upon the island’s nature spirit named Ariel, played by Caroline Conrad, to raise a storm and strand her sister Antonia, played by senior Hannah Creasman, and the royal entourage of the Queen, played by junior Rachael Urquhart, on the island. From there, the entourage is separated and each group fights for dominance and an understanding of the mysterious island that they have landed upon.

St. Pelagia’s Players have interpreted this production in a more modern setting, reflected primarily in the character’s clothing. Those characters who are regal and strive for power wear the sharp business suits and adopt powerful stances, while those who are more humble wear lighter colors. The costume that immediately stands out from the rest is that of the island’s fish-monster inhabitant Caliban, played by sophomore Gwendolyn Mulligan, which is made completely out of pieces of waste and trash.

In fact, the entire staging is uniquely made out of collected pieces of garbage. With an emphasis on plastic waste, the stage is lined with bottles, containers, wrappers, and giant pieces of Styrofoam. The staging reflects the theme the St. Pelagia’s Players present about consumer behavior in our world. In the Producer’s Notes presented in the playbill, it states “We as consumers…must remember that recycling is not enough: we must be conscious of all the plastic we encounter and purchase in our everyday lives, and endeavor to choose more wisely.”  

Through the production of The Tempest, the St. Pelagia’s Players invite the audience to see the amount of trash that builds up in life, both literal and figuratively, and show how it is possible to work towards forgiveness and better conservation practices for our world.

For more information on the St. Pelagia’s Players, email stpelagiasplayers@gmail.com or follow their Facebook group @StPelagiaRegis.

Much Ado About St. Pelagia’s Players at Regis

(Photo courtesy of St. Pelagia's Players)

By: Allison Upchurch, Staff Reporter

               Did you know that Regis had a Shakespeare players group? Well, we do! It’s the St. Pelagia’s Players, created by seniors Hannah Creasman and Frederika Gillbert. The Highlander got to sit down with Creasman to talk about the group and their production coming up in November.

               As students, Creasman and Gillbert felt there was a lack of theater on campus and came together to create the St. Pelagia’s Players. “We both felt that we would like to create a venue for the student body in which we could explore that form of art,” Creasman tells The Highlander.

               This group first production, “Much Ado About Nothing”, was put on last fall semester. “And it was great,” Creasman recalls, “We basically did everything by the seed of our pants. We scrapped together a cast and a venue and a tech crew, very small numbers of all those things. She directed and I produced and we put on a play and it was amazing and people came and laughed.”

               This November, the group will be tackling what is regarded as Shakespeare’s final production as a playwright, “The Tempest.” Originally the story of a royal party who get shipwrecked on an island sometime in the 1600’s, the St. Pelagia’s Players have decided to set their production in a more modern setting and give light to the issue of ocean pollution and waste.

               “We’re doing this to sort of bring out the pathos of what our consumerism and disposable lifestyle creates around the world both for nature and for other humans,” said Creasman.

               Creasman adds how hard at work the actors have been since auditions last April at learning their characters, the production, and the themes they want to portray. “There’s a lot of emotion going on during the whole thing. So we wanted to give the actors enough time to be with their characters and kind of live with those people whom they are going to embody on stage.”

               The call to do this particular play at this time is one that stems from the Jesuit lifestyle here at Regis. To connect it all together, Creasman reflects, “In terms of living for other people, in terms of the Jesuit lifestyle, just realizing and being aware of the small aspects of our lives that creates a huge ripple effect all around the world in terms of pollution is a very strong aspect to explore.”

               “The Tempest” will be performed Nov. 10, 11, and 12, and this group has room for a few extra helpers and performers. For more information on the play or how to join, email stpelagiasplayers@gmail.com and follow their Facebook group @StPelagiaRegis.