Semi-Royal Shakespeare Turns 30:
Performances March 4-7

by Joan R. Simon

(February 25, 2004) The 30th year of the Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company will be celebrated with gala performances of The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Comedy of Errors at the Emelin Theater on March 4 through 7 (see schedule below). Dee O’Brien, the long-time director of the company, will be guiding almost 70 enthusiastic Mamaroneck High School students as they dance, prance and emote their way across the stage. “Retro and slightly askew” attire from the 70s, 80s and 90s will be featured in Merry Wives (with three costume changes per actor), while Comedy performers will don more traditional designs described as “pseudo 1700s.”

The Semi-Royal Shakespeare audiences are guaranteed a sophisticated, innovative and always humorous production with 9th through 12th graders, and a few younger students, taking part. But for the students themselves, the months of practice add up to much more than putting on a play. For nearly everyone, it’s both “a lot of fun” and “a lot of hard work” and equally about the personal bonds that develop within the company. Matt Devine, a four year veteran with the company, remarked, “You’re hanging out with people you’ve never seen before, and it all comes together on stage, sort of a culmination.” Shira Lavi, stage manager for Merry Wives, concurred, “You create this family with people you don’t usually hang out with who become your friends. You make really good relationships.”

“You go from learning to teaching.”

O’Brien observed, "I've watched these students grow up as people and as performers, and we form a special bond with each other. The older cast members make it a point to work with the younger ones so that when they graduate, they know that this tradition will continue." Senior Eli Fuchsberg echoed her remarks. “You go from learning to teaching. There are freshman here who have never been on the stage before.”

And then there’s the thrill of the performance itself. Samantha Lyons, a junior in her third year with the company, summed it up, “It’s a totally different experience from anything I’ve ever done. It’s a ton of hard work and it takes up most of your time, but the experience of performing in front of packed houses at the Emelin is something incredible that I can’t even explain. You’ve put your effort into something and you see a reward that no one can give to you but yourself and that’s just awesome.”

“Dee makes the world go round.”

Hommocks 8th grade teacher Dee O’Brien, who is known to everyone as “Dee,” is at the center of this whirlwind of creativity and excitement. As senior Bennett Florence remarked, “Dee makes the world go round.” And that has been true for the more than 2000 students O’Brien has directed over the past 30 years. It all started in 1974, when O’Brien began directing her 8th grade classes in Shakespeare plays. After 15 years, she switched to high school productions, and since then she typically has been directing two plays every spring, each with a double cast.

Over the years, everything in Dee O’Brien’s Shakespeare has grown: the array of costumes, the complexity of the sets and music, and the student casts. In the early years, unlike the lavish and unique costumes of current plays, outfits were recycled from one year to the next. “I bought out an entire lot of costumes from a school that had gone out of business,” she noted.

O’Brien mused about the passing of time, as her students grow up. “One minute they’re in the eighth grade and the next minute they’re driving their cars with props in the back.” And speaking of cars, O’Brien reflected on how her own have mirrored the growth in her productions. “I started out with a little sports car, moved on to SUVs and next year I plan to get a pick up truck with a long bed.”

A number of O’Brien’s actors have gone on to Broadway and Shakespeare touring companies. But whether they enter the theater world or not, all her former students share a common love for their high school years in Shakespeare. As Marianne Fichtel, a ’98 graduate of MHS and Shakespeare, fondly recalled, “Dee is someone who has inspired me to pursue what I am passionate about in my life.”

Ticket Information

Prices are $10 for evening performances and $8 for matinees. All public performances are at the Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck. Tickets can be purchased by phone (698-0098) or at the box office prior to the performance.

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