Gen Z ‘Romeo And Juliet’ Takes CCTC/HJT’s Outdoor Stage

On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre will present a workshop production of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” on the outdoor stage. The production is the culmination of an apprenticeship project which has matched Gen Z individuals — those in the age group from 15 to 26 years of age — with professional mentors.

CCTC/HJT’s Producing Artistic Director Jenn Pina said the community response and excitement around the apprenticeship project has been amazing.

“The project has received generous funding from the Davenport Foundation and the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod,” Pina said. “The entire production team has been chosen from applicants who are Gen Z — ages 15 to 26 — and each gets a professional mentor to lead them through that process. It’s a great way to engage with people of this age group, keep them engaged in the theater, give them some job skills in the arts field and create a pipeline of production team staffing, not just for our theater but for the broader Cape Cod theater community.”

The production’s apprentice director, 22-year-old TJ O’Leary, has been working alongside mentor Jenn Pina.

“So, our production team is made up entirely of Gen Z apprentices who are (at least somewhat) new to their craft,” O’Leary said. “Each member of the production team also has an adult mentor who is experienced at the position they are mentoring — for example, I am the apprentice director, as I'm still new to directing, and Jenn Pina is my mentor. The mentor teaches their apprentice how to do their job for the production and helps them throughout. This new way of doing things helps bring young, less experienced people into these production team jobs.”

What does O’Leary think a Gen Z production team brings to “Romeo and Juliet” that might be unique to them?

“Well, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is really a play about the youngest generation — about how the youth handle the problems they've inherited from their parents,” O’Leary said. “And even though it doesn't exactly end well for Romeo and Juliet, they still succeed in ending the feud between their families that has been handed down through generations. I very much see it as a play about the power of young people. So, I think it's fitting that our production team is entirely Gen Z. We're getting all sorts of fresh perspectives that bring something new to this classic play.”

O’Leary said her favorite part of working on this show (and Shakespeare in general) is watching people's relationship with Shakespeare evolve. At the beginning of the production, people of all ages are nervous about having to work with the language — they're asking for fewer lines, or saying that they'll never be able to understand it.

“And then, as we work on the show, it's so wonderful to watch something click, and they suddenly start to feel like they get it,” O’Leary said. “I really love getting to see people who started the production very anxious about Shakespeare delivering their lines with full confidence and understanding in what they're saying.”

The production team’s mentee-mentor pairs consist of director/marketing TJ O'Leary and mentor Jenn Pina; tech director and lead carpenter Shiloh Pabst and mentor Matt Kohler; stage manager Tess Armstrong and mentor Laura Froeschner; sound design Quill Adamsons and mentor Matt Kohler; set design Calliope Pina Parker and mentor Andy Arnault; costume design Laik O'Reilly and mentor Robin McLaughlin; wardrobe/assistant costume Maeve Paquette and mentor Robin McLaughlin; costume and wardrobe assistant Calliope Pina Parker and mentor Robin McLaughlin; box office and front of house management Eleanor Sears and mentor Trish LaRose; and props and signs Thea Thompson and mentor Mary Beth Travis.

The cast of “Romeo and Juliet” features John O'Meara as Romeo, Lucie Jackett as Juliet, Gracie O'Leary as Benvolio, Ed Donovan as Capulet, Jane Newton Staab as Friar Laurence, Izaak van der Wende as Gregory, Jillian Annessi as Lady Montague, Martha Paquin as Lady Capulet, Colin Bourget as Mercutio, Brian Lore Evans as Montague, Emily Murray as Nurse, Rachel Walman as Paris, Fiona McCray as Prince Escalus, Hunter Hunt as Sampson, Calliope Pina Parker as Tybalt, and in the ensemble are Gianna Casale, Olivia Thompson, Tess O'Brien, Phoebe Schuessler, Ella Froeschner, KJ Stewart, Brenna Carleton and Tyler Gula.

Details:

“Romeo and Juliet”

At Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre

Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17 and 18 at 7 p.m.

Information and reservations: 508-432-2002, capecodtheatrecompany.org