Taking the stage: Madeira Sophomore Shakespeare Festival

The Sophomore Shakespeare Festival offers an opportunity for all sophomore English students to act out scenes from a Shakespeare play that they have studied in class. This year’s play was the comedy Twelfth Night. Dr. Arizmendi, Dr. Ward, and Ms. Hogue divided up the play and gave each of their sections a scene to present. All of the scenes were directed by students.

In 1990, Nora Tracy Phillips, a Madeira master teacher who had worked at the Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C. conceived of the idea of holding a sophomore-wide festival which would celebrate the art of, not just reading, but acting Shakespeare. The first festival was so successful that it has become a time-honored part of the English II curriculum.

This year’s awards:

• Award for Outstanding Ensemble: Ms. Hogue’s F-period class (“The Californians”)
• Award for Outstanding Dramatic Interpretation: Hanna Powers and Katie Barack
• Award for Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role: Annika Adstedt
• Award for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role: Zharia O’Neal
• Award for Outstanding Concept: “The Diner” by Ms. Hogue’s D-period class
• Award for Outstanding Director: Katherine Jiang
• Award for Nerdiness (in the comic role of Malvolio): Julia Berlay
• Award for Best Creative Risk-Taking: Bella Zhong

Academics