Teaching Shakespeare to teens in an exciting way feels like a borderline Herculean task: one that can feel stale or not worth the effort. Those who take it on must decode the Elizabethan era language and attempt to foster interest in already well-known stories, not the mention battling countless other adaptations that are an easier sell. Despite these hurdles, the NYC-based immersive company Educational Mobile Immersive Theatre (EMIT) has committed to conquering this challenge, bringing participatory theatrical experiences to “learners of all kinds,” to build new ways for these classic texts to be explored. Their most recent production of Romeo and Juliet does so by adopting a delightfully colorful and plucky aesthetic (for those familiar, think the clownish look of Godspell), which injected imagination and diversity into the piece in a surprisingly effective way.
The first thing that I noticed was the “sandbox” structure of the piece, where the audience was allowed to move about at will, exploring different scenes on their own while the action happened in different places at the same time. Though popular, this format can be fairly difficult to pull off successfully. This type of show requires a great deal of coordination: actors performing in tandem, the timing of multiple scenes happening in different locations at the same time, environmental cues, and any other moving parts all trying to operate on the same timeline. Given the source material, this also means creating new text for the characters when they would not normally be “on stage” in a proscenium version, since the audience can continue to follow them, even after their originally-written scene has ended. And lastly, it means that the audience behavior is much less predictable, due to the ways that spectators can choose to move through or affect the action.
All of this makes the sandbox format difficult to execute gracefully (a fact that is often underestimated or overlooked by new immersive creators).
Luckily, EMIT manages to make the sandbox experience work well by relying on the spirit of imaginative play. Performers improvised and injected humor into the text’s empty spaces, so no scene you might run into was a bad place to end up. They also, cleverly, added a few devices that helped the overall experience run smoothly. Pre-show paper documents that included the photos and names of each character were a simple yet inspired addition. Not only was this a great learning tool for students, but it also got rid of the problem of entering a space mid-scene and not knowing exactly which character is which. Some thoughtful ad hoc traffic directing on the part of director Gianna Cioffi allowed for better flow from scene to scene, and made sure that no audience members got in the way of any vital action. Perhaps in a more sophisticated experience, this would have seemed amateur or clunky, but surrounded by this production’s accommodating and playful energy, it only enhanced the community-built vibe of the experience. Finally, in terms of tracking, one clever design decision was the use of audience members as in-world “messengers” to move them towards the action. For example, a moment came where I was sitting with Benvolio (played by a smiling Victoria Giambalvo) and we hit a lull in conversation during a bit of improvised one-on-one time. I knew, based upon previous knowledge of the script, that an important scene between the eponymous couple was happening elsewhere, but I stayed with Benvolio, curious where the alone time led. As the conversation hit its natural close, she found the perfect way to redirect me forward: writing a letter to Romeo (one I knew wasn’t actually intended for delivery), and asking that I bring it to its recipient. Just like that, I was tracked back into the main plotline and given extra motivation to rejoin the action, while Benvolio presumably reset.
Going into the evening, I had been skeptical about the short runtime of the piece; Romeo and Juliet was publicized as a 75-minute experience (a run-time that EMIT did, in fact, stick to), which, at face value, seems short for a Shakespeare play. However, I found that the shorter runtime worked in their favor, with the content keeping my attention the entire way through, and ending right as my focus may have started to dwindle. The length ended up being pleasantly digestible, which surely helps EMIT when bringing the piece to students. Most importantly, all the edits made to the script felt appropriate for this production, without compromising any beloved moments from the original play. I didn’t find myself missing any particular pieces of the original text. It seems that a well-known piece like Romeo and Juliet might be well-suited for sandbox experiences which need to keep a short runtime; any moments that I may have missed were ones that I was able to fill in mentally with ease. Because I already knew the basics of the story, the cuts in the script did not feel like a compromise to understanding what was going on.
Another reimagining of the text was the incorporation of modern day dialect. Throughout the experience, “landmark” scenes, such as the balcony scene or Mercutio’s murder, were performed in the classic Shakespearean text, as they were originally written; however, the improv-focused scenes in between, when the actors filled in the gaps of what their characters were up to, were done in more modern speech. Though this combination sounds like it might awkward, the juxtaposition actually worked very well, in large part due to the actors’ abilities to seamlessly transition between dialects.
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“I’ll write again to Mantua, ‘kay?” Calls out a hurried Benvolio.
“It’s okay, please go, I need to be with him,” pleads a heartbroken Juliet, to a Friar who responds, “Come from that nest of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep. A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents.”
Somehow, it not only works but is effective. This flow of language allows for the actors to play and improvise, and moreso, to translate; especially for a show intended to teach students about Shakespeare, this combination of dialects serves as a sort-of live-action No Fear Shakespeare, making much clearer exactly what is being said with all that flowery iambic pentameter.
However, as an educational program, there was something even more important accomplished with Romeo and Juliet. In my eyes, the most important lesson came via EMIT’s approach to diversity and inclusion. The lighthearted environment of the space welcomed the audience to explore and play, helping us to feel at ease, free from the worry of doing the experience “wrong.” The casual atmosphere allowed for ways to take a break in the event of sensory overload or fatigue, which was emphasized in the online marketing and onboarding of the experience. Having an atmosphere that is sensitive to the needs of its audience not only fosters a great environment in which to learn, but teaches the student audience to be accommodating to the needs of others. Additionally, the diverse, gender-blind casting was a refreshing lesson in inclusion. I was relieved to see that the approach was not used as a gimmick or even a storytelling tool but more represented a truly spectrum approach to gender and sexuality, presented as simply normal, no questions asked. Their version of Romeo and Juliet displayed non-heterosexual couples and female-presenting characters in power. There was a gender non-conforming approach to the costuming, favoring individual style and creativity for all characters’ appearances. I heard multiple characters referred to by fluid pronouns, keeping the focus on the characters themselves, rather than their sex or gender (or that of those of the actors portraying them). Mostly importantly, this was done with no fanfare; it was simply the status quo.
By doing this, EMIT has provided invaluable visibility of these identities and relationships to students who are still shaping their views of the world.
In the end, I was thoroughly charmed by EMIT’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet. Of course, if you’re looking for flawless execution or super-stylized and elegant immersive theatre, that is not what you’ll find here — but I am more than okay with that. Instead, they brought exactly the educational experience that was promised, and presented this classic text in a way that actually felt like it could be comprehensible and fun for students. Rather than getting a watered-down or pandering school assembly, we were presented with a vibrant and focused lesson on diversity and storytelling, and an accessible version of Shakespeare that somehow felt fresh.
Romeo and Juliet has concluded; learn more about EMIT.
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