The education department of the Utah Shakespeare Festival will present “Henry IV” by William Shakespeare on Feb. 20 at the Montezuma-Cortez High School’s Ralph Vavak Auditorium.
The performance will start at 7 p.m.
According to MCHS drama director Nicholaus Sandner, the Utah Shakespeare Festival show has been coming to MCHS for over 10 years.
A former theater family had visited the festival and learned about their education program, and returned home to tell Sandner about it. They helped him get it started that first year.
“We’ve been bringing them back every year after that,” Sandner said. “Now that we’re on their tour schedule, they just reach out to us in the fall and ask if we’re interested in doing it again.”
MCHS is one of the only, if not the only, Colorado high school the festival visits each year.
Before their evening performance, the group will host three afternoon workshops with students. After the workshops, students may help set up the stage.
“They’ll do that (workshops) in the afternoon, and then they have the show in the evening,” Sandner said. “Our students get to help with the setup and takedown, so they get to interact with the actors and the technicians and see what a professional, traveling show looks like.”
Sandner shared that students enjoy getting to interact with the actors before they perform.
“They really like being part of the moving-in of a show and then, because they got to hang out with the actors during the workshop, it’s even more fun when they get to see them up on stage acting out their characters,” Sandner said.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students and seniors. MCHS drama students and staff can attend for free.
Online purchases can be done by visiting www.mchsdrama.booktix.com or in-person at the door.
The festival is headquartered in Cedar City, Utah. More information is online at https://www.bard.org/.
