Drama students at Valley Central High School love William Shakespeare’s plays. Their enthusiasm for his productions inspired the founding of the school’s Shakespeare Club and the production of “Twelfth Night.”

It all started with a Shakespeare elective that the English Department offered for years. David Miller, a drama and English teacher at VCHS, began to include more performing arts in the class. As a result, his students developed an interest in Shakespeare’s plays. Their interest sparked the founding of the Shakespeare Club. The club is funded largely by donations and admission to the club is free. The students pushed to perform a play and presented “Othello” last school year, which Miller directed.

After their performance of “Othello”, Miller and the students decided to perform another Shakespeare play. They held meetings to decide the production. They decided to perform “Twelfth Night” since they had just done a tragedy. Miller, director for the production, named the cast and students memorized their lines over the summer. He decided for the play to be set during modern times. The play’s characters will wear clothes that are contemporary with today’s upper class.
“It’s really the students’ passion for the material that led to this event,” Miller said regarding the production of “Twelfth Night.”

“Twelfth Night” tells the story of a love triangle. Zachariah Kuenzi plays Orsino, Duke of Illyria, who is in love with Lady Olivia (Brenna Connolly). Olivia refuses to entertain any marriage proposals because she is mourning the death of her brother. Meanwhile, Viola (Isabella Luciano) has washed up on the Illyrian shore after a terrible shipwreck. She believes that her twin brother Sebastian is dead. Looking for employment, she disguises herself as a man named Cesario and goes to work in Duke Orsino’s household. Viola (disguised as Cesario) falls in love with Orsino but Orsino does not feel the same way, as he believes Viola is a man. Later, Orsino sends Cesario to deliver his love messages to Olivia. She falls in love with Cesario, believing that he is a man. Everyone is miserable, as the person they love does not love them back.

In the story’s subplot, several characters devise a plan to make Olivia’s steward Malvolio (W. John Dial) believe that Olivia has fallen in love with him. The plan involves Olivia’s uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Gabe Donovan), a squire named Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Joseph Brylowski), Olivia’s servants Maria (Madison Kaplan) and Fabian (Kaitlyn Bontreger) and a clown named Feste (Jillian Landsman). Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria plant a love letter on Malvolio. Written by Maria in Olivia’s handwriting, the letter convinces Malvolio that she is in love with him. It asks him to dress and act in ways that Olivia actually hates. The letter inspires his poor behavior and he is locked up in a dark chamber.

Antonio (Nala McCalla) finds Viola’s twin brother Sebastian (Jayden Frometa). Olivia mistakes Sebastian for Cesario and marries him. Later, Olivia and Orsino meet Sebastian and Cesario, noticing their physical similarities. Cesario reveals herself to be Viola, thus reuniting with her brother. The play ends with a declaration of marriage between Orsino and Viola. In addition, Sir Toby marries Maria. The student actors are excited for the play.

“There’s a lot of variety in all the characters,” said Brenna Connolly, who plays Olivia in “Twelfth Night.” “It’s not just funny, there’s a lot of character development. It’s got everything.”

The play will be performed on Oct. 24 and 25 at 7 p.m. in the Valley Central High School auditorium. Admission is free, however the Shakespeare Club welcomes donations. Even though “Twelfth Night” was written in the early 1600s, Miller noted that its plot is applicable to present day. He believes that guests will draw commonalities between the play and their own lives.

“I think they will recognize the crazy things love makes us do,” Miller said. “The risks we take for love, the joy of love, is all contained in this play.”