'Twelfth Night' Showcases Montville High Talent [VIDEO]

Not only are Montville High School Drama Club students starring in "Twelfth Night," helping direct, making the costumes, manning the stage and doing the sound, but for the first time ever, says Director Susan Walsh, they've also done the lighting design and the choreography.

Yes, choreography. And while Shakespeare might not have imagined dancing in his tale of love, mistaken identity and misunderstood gender, "We had some fun with Shakespeare," Walsh says.

It's important that kids run the show, Walsh says - important for the show, and also for the kids individually, as part of the learning process and part of the creative process, as well.

Sophomore Brenden Valliere says he learned lighting design from Paul Botchis, a professional who lives in Montville and works on Broadway. Botchis worked on the show last year, and showed him the ropes, Valliere says.

Valliere says he designed the lighting to capture, focus and move the audience's attention. He worked out the lively and dramatic lighting, and then fixed it in a computer, so that during the show, his work is precise but minimal. 

Megan Rotkowitz, a junior, has been dancing since she was 4, so doing the choreography came naturally to her, she says. The majority of the work involved getting the cast members in rhythm and in sync. Rotkowitz says the dancing came out very much as she imagined it would.

The cast and crew are full of energy and laughter Friday night, helping each other, joking, doing makeup, generally acting like a happy, well-adjusted acting company.

"There's no backbiting, no gossiping," Walsh says. "It's just an amazing group of kids," she said.

"The drama club kids are the best kids."