Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  It’s becoming a Nederland Elementary School habit: presenting classic theater productions to select audiences. Last year, the fourth graders put on “Beowulf,” speaking in the archaic English form, accents and all. It was an awesome performance that received praise from all who were lucky enough to see it.

Some of those audience members were this year’s second and third graders, who were so impressed that they asked if they could do a classic play this year. Third grade teacher, Marcey Decker, introduced them to “Romeo and Juliet.” The students were enthralled with the story and asked if they act in it.

The play was whittled down to the basics, and the speeches were selected to drive the action of the story. When the children began reading the lines, they decided they wanted to act them, to wear costumes, and to perform before an audience. A stage was created in the classroom with curtains, and the class went to work.

When it became close to production, the second graders thought they should have a chance to take the stage, so third grader, Griffin Petrovic-Jones, took it upon himself to translate the third grade Shakespearean lines into modern English making it easier for the younger students to memorize.

Cheree Stover directed the show and the curtains opened last Friday. Juliet was played by Shaiann Stover-Winter and the part of Romeo was shared by Kendall Zotti and Bronwyn Andrews.

The third graders got into sword fights between the warring families, the Capulets and the Montagues, slashing and stabbing at the air. When Juliet discovered that Romeo had died, she plunged the knife into her own body, evoking a gasp from the audience.

In the second grade production, Griffin Petrovic-Jones played Romeo and Tatum Vernon and River Horton played Juliet.

If putting on classical plays is going to become a part of the NES curriculum, we will have a large surge of actors moving on up to the Nederland Middle Senior High School.