Shakespeare in Detroit, partnered with Detroit School of Arts, presented the play Romeo and Juliet on Nov. 14-15. Those who attended the play loved the production and thought the play was a success. Many DSA Theatre students performed in the play.
Karrief Hubbard and Arise Rock performed the leading roles. Both have performed in DSA school plays. The DSA Journalism class asked them to reflect on their roles as Romeo and Juliet.
“At first the language seemed a little intimidating, but I worked on it constantly. I knew that if I wanted to make Juliet come to life, I needed to first understand what I was saying. Once I got the language down, I began to work on my character. I found that Juliet and I had a lot in common. Her entire life she had never seen an example of what real love was supposed to look like. Consequently, she focused everything she had on Romeo, hoping that he’d become that love and support she’d never had. However, it wasn’t always that easy and relatable for me to play her. I had to be able to understand why she was willing to die for someone she’d only known for a few hours. I did my best to put that childish innocence into her character — and it made me think of kids nowadays. A lot of them go through a similar situation as Juliet’s. They don’t always experience love and because of that they try to fill up that hole with something else. It was not easy role to embrace but it made me realize how relatable Shakespeare is to today’s youth. I hope that everyone can learn from my performance as Juliet. It was a very eye-opening experience and I think many people don’t often realize how necessary Shakespeare works are for us to read.”
Hubbard: “Portraying Romeo was a big step for me. His emotions were hard to portray. … Shakespeare in Detroit pushed me hard with articulation. I struggled with articulation because of my braces. … This play was an amazing experience. I enjoyed every bit of it. I would never forget this moment.”
