Hawken Graduate Takes Lead in Vassar College`s Romeo and Juliet

Hawken graduate Gwendolyn Ellis `04 was recently cast as the lead in Vassar College`s fall production, Romeo and Juliet. A veteran to theater productions, Gwen has been involved in theater since eighth grade, when she was part of the Hawken Middle School production of Peter Pan. Speaking highly of her experience at Hawken, Gwen is pleased that the Drama Department afforded her the "the opportunity to be in such a wide variety of shows." A sophomore at Vassar College, Gwen has already been cast in an impressive number of roles. Her role as Juliet marks Gwen`s sixth college production. She had five roles her freshman year in productions run through the Vassar Drama Department, the English Department, a student theater group called Philaletheis, and with the Woodshed Theater Ensemble, a collective theater group of which she is a member for the next three years. Auditions for all Vassar department shows are the first day of the semester, and students audition for all the shows being produced that semester. Gwen said she "could only hope to be cast in Romeo and Juliet at all," let alone to be cast as the lead role. Gwen has found being cast as the lead role challenging because "everybody knows who [Juliet] is and has certain expectations of how she will behave." Gwen is concentrating on finding a balance between those expectations "yet carving out a place for me to play her." Getting ready for the show is time intensive, as rehearsals are Monday through Thursday for three to four hours, and sometimes on Sundays. Focusing on the text of Romeo and Juliet, Vasar`s drama department has chosen to have a very minimalist set. There are 22 students involved in the production, and the actors sit on chairs for the entire duration of the show. Gwen will take the stage as Julie November 3-5 at 8:00pm on the Martel Stage on Vassar`s campus in Poughkeepsie, NY. If you`re in the area, stop by to see her show!