By Sarah Faulkner

Senior Scenes on Monday, Dec. 8, was a hectic evening, and started a bit late, but it was a lot of fun. There were scenes done by each class, and a few scenes that were only done once. Twelfth Night, A Doll’s House, and The Glass Menagerie were the three plays that the scenes were from.

Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, is about two twins, Viola and Sebastian, who are separated at sea. Viola disguised herself as a man and delivered messages for her master to Countess Olivia. Olivia fell in love with Viola, and in turn, Sebastian fell in love with Olivia. Meanwhile, Olivia’s steward, Malvolio, believed that Olivia had fallen for him and he tried to impress her by behaving according to a letter that she had written.

A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, is considered to be a prominent feminist play in theater history. Nora and Torvald are married, and appear to be happy together. Nora, however, has a secret from her husband – a loan. At the time, women were not allowed to manage money, and Nora forged her father’s signature in order to get the money. A few years later, Nora’s old friend Kristine comes to her looking for a job. Kristine replaces her old sweetheart, Krogstad, the very man who loaned money to Nora, at the bank, and he threatens to expose her forgery to her husband. At the end of the play, Torvald discovers Nora’s secret, and she realizes that she and Torvald had not been in love, but that she was merely his doll – something to amuse him. She left, slamming the door shut on her way out.

The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, is loosely based on the author’s life. Tom, the narrator, works at a shoe factory, and dreams of being a poet. His crippled sister, Laura, amuses herself with her glass animals most of the time while their mother, Amanda, struggles to find her a gentleman caller. The financial burden of the family rests on Tom’s shoulders, and he finally invites a friend, Jim, over for dinner. Jim and Laura had been classmates in high school, and when he came for dinner, he talked to Laura about her self-esteem issues. He told her to be less self-conscious, and helped her with her insecurities. However, after the dinner is over, it is exposed that he had been engaged to be married, and Tom leaves the family shortly thereafter.

Scenes from these plays were performed by students from each class. Caroline Burget and Anne Fischer performed a scene as Olivia and Viola, respectively. Olivia confessed of her love to Viola, believing that Viola was a man named Cesario, and Viola freaked out and ran away. “It was a little scary to go on stage, but Senior Scenes was great because it was something the entire senior class could do together before we all leave,” Caroline said. This scene was exclusive to Caroline and Anne, and it was enjoyable to watch, as were all the other scenes.