To Seuss or Not to Seuss?

Audiences can expect a night of playful rhyming when Mason City High School’s Speech and Drama Club puts on its two fall plays this weekend. The actors plan to perform twists on the Shakespeare tragedies, renamed Hamlet Thrillmageddon and The Suessification of Romeo and Juliet, Friday and Saturday night in the FEMA Room.

“The words are Suessified,” said Coach Rebecca Rother. “So the whole thing rhymes.”

The first rehearsal took place on the 22nd of September in the MCHS building’s FEMA room. Now MCHS’s own thespians, with coaches Rother and Heather Bailey are feeling the pressure of putting on not just one great show, but two.

Sixteen thespians, such as Andres Villegas, who plays Hamlet and Lord Monotone, take on roles in each play. 

“I get to die two times!” said Kai Tietz, a junior who plays Mercutio in The Suessification of Romeo and Juliet as well as a villager in Hamlet Thrillmageddon, which is a one-act play mixing zombies and backup dancers.

There are issues presented by the showing of two different plays. Double the work, double the characters, and double the memorizing. 

“It’s harder to learn your lines because you might mix up the two,” said junior Jordan Roehl, “I have to get my work done and then memorize these lines, which can be difficult sometimes.”

“Although it can be difficult at times, I keep pushing myself to do the absolute best,” said Tietz, “because I know the result will be worth it.”

Coach Rother and Coach Bailey have been taking steps to ensure students are not overwhelmed. One of these steps is a flexible schedule, allowing students to participate in other schedules at the same time. 

“It’s okay, though, because they’re not full-length plays,” said coach Rebecca Rother.

Rother says students need to simply take it in stride and accept the guaranteed mishaps. The plays take place on Friday, November 7th, and Saturday, November 8th, at the FEMA room of the MCHS building from 7-9 pm each night.