Jen Clifford and Derek Koger along with Eric Lualdi and Kathleen Maki have a combined acting experience of over 40 years. All are currently working in shows in the area and all are a part of the Great Lakes Theater Company (GLTC), a company that has allowed great actors such as Tom Hanks to get a start in the acting business. As two teams, Clifford and Koger and Lualdi and Maki brought Shakespeare and other plays to life for several English classes at Roosevelt.

“I liked the sword fighting because I got to show off how well I can pretend to die,” freshman Alice Stamm said.

According to English teacher Pam Harr, the planning for this started at the beginning of the school year. Harr used an alternative education grant given to the Bridges program in order to pay for it. Through this grant, the ninth and tenth grade Bridges English classes, as well as Susan Mileski’s junior English classes were able to participate and interact with Lualdi and Maki to learn Romeo and Juliet in the ninth grade classes, The Crucible in the tenth grade classes, and Macbeth in Mileski’s eleventh grade classes.

“It was so much fun to have a different experience outside of the classroom. Being able to participate in acting out Romeo and Juliet helped me to understand it a lot better,” freshman Kaylie Ehrman said.

Then, when Willoughby-East Lake, the school at which Harr taught for 16 years and worked with GLTC for four years, cancelled their week with the GLTC, other Roosevelt teachers were taken off the waiting list. Koger and Clifford worked as a team with Leslie Leonard’s senior English classes, and Karen Barlow’s and Tianne Donaldson’s freshman English classes.

“The money was raised through all kinds of sources. Leslie Leonard is a mastermind as far as getting cash when it’s needed,” Harr said.

“I wanted students to gain a better understanding of the play, to remember it, and to relate it to their own lives,” Barlow said. “As far as which classes they went to, it went to who was interested and whether or not it fit into their teaching schedule.”

The GLTC could not go to every class. They went to five classes each day and were at RHS the entire week of Jan. 27th. Although there were two snow days that week, according to Barlow, the actors did a good job covering the most important elements. Also, the GLTC reduced costs a bit in order to compensate for the snow days.

“I think the best part was experiencing the whole thing. From the acting to sword fighting or expressing you feelings-it was all great!” freshman Amanda Uhrig said.

Despite the short time period in which the GLTC was at RHS, both students and teachers say it was worth the $1300 per pair of actors.

“Personally, if I had to go door to door and sell candy bars to make this happen, I would do it in a heartbeat,” Harr said. “It was so amazing to have students come up to me, while I’m sitting down, and wanting to talk to me about Shakespeare.”

“I liked being able to play the roles of other people while being able to have fun and enjoy Shakespeare,” freshman Nate Kline said.