Shakespearean Scenes: Family Feud

Scene Recital by the Hyperion Shakespeare Company

March 1-2, 8 p.m.

Adams Pool Theatre

Directed by Olivia L Ball ’14, Matthew B. Barrieau ’16, Kevin Q. Hilgartner ’16, Emilie G.C. Thompson ’16

Produced by Alice F. Berenson ’16, Bethany L. Donovan ’16.

At 8 p.m. on Friday in Adams Pool Theatre, Hyperion Shakespeare Company will present a series of student-directed scenes, each from a different Shakespeare play. This year, the theme of the scene recital is dysfunctional families. “We [got] to pick scenes that we’re really excited about…that we want to dive into and have fun with,” director and actress Olivia L. Ball ’14 says. The aptly titled “Family Feud” will play through Saturday.

Hyperion is a student-led acting group on campus dedicated to providing students with the opportunity to act, direct, and share a love of Shakespeare. Each semester, members of the Hyperion company’s board, called The Bench, select a theme for a scene recital and then choose segments from different plays which relate to that theme. This year, the plays include “Hamlet,” “King Lear,” “The Comedy of Errors,” “Coriolanus,” “Measure for Measure,” “Richard III,” and “As You Like It.”

“Family Feud” is a more digestible dose of Shakespeare because the short snippets are distillations of the members’ favorite Shakespearean moments. It is different from most other plays on campus in that “Family Feud” does not have one plot; the production is a medley of bite-sized pieces brought to life by the enthusiasm of its directors and actors. Each member of the Company brings a professed love of Shakespeare to their scenes.

“They get all of my nerdy Shakespeare jokes,” Ball says. “I’m directing a scene from Hamlet that I love, so it’s been really fun to see that come to life.”

—Staff writer Nzuekoh N. Nchinda can be reached at nzuekohnchinda14@college.harvard.edu.