AP Literature classes went to the Guthrie on Tuesday, April 12, to see the Shakespeare play The Tempest to experience live theater for the first time in two years. While having previously read the play and discussed it in class, students found that they were able to see the work in a new light and understand it in a different format.

In typical, non-COVID 19 times AP Literature classes would go to the theater two times per year as part of their curriculum. “This is our first attempt at getting back into the world of theater. The AP exam will cover drama as well as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and literary devices so it’s important to see live theater to prepare for the exam, but also just for the love and enjoyment of experiencing art and culture,” AP Literature teacher Katie Belanger said.

The course’s core Shakespearean piece is Hamlet, but it covers a great variety of his other works as well, including The Tempest. “The Tempest is known as Shakespeare’s final play, and it’s really just a beautiful play. It’s his farewell to the stage. It highlights themes of justice and love and magic, and it was a really fun play to see as well for seniors in their final sort of quarter of high school,” Belanger said.

The play was directed by Joe Dowling, who has been honored for his dedication to the Guthrie and theater. “He is directing the production for the first time since 2015. The other cool thing is that the director, Joe Dowling, casts a female actor in the role of Prospero, which is typically a man, but he’s naming her Prospera. This is traditionally played by a male actor, but they’re doing this to highlight the role of the mother daughter relationship and to really hone in on the theme of forgiveness,” Belanger said.

Students have only read plays in class, so viewing it live and in-person was a new experience. “It’s really just helpful to see another aspect…We’ve definitely done a lot of work with other plays, like we read some other Shakespearean plays this year, like Hamlet, but seeing it live in the theater was really helpful just to experience it more than reading it on our own,” AP Literature student Anna Busch said.

It isn’t common, especially in pandemic times, for classes to witness live theater, so students found the experience rewarding both academically and personally. “I think, for myself, it was just a really cool experience to have. I think that should be included in schools more because I think it broadens your education. It opens you to those new experiences, and it deepens your understanding of the material in a new way that you don’t always get,” Busch said.