The theater department is putting a new spin on the Shakespearean classic “Hamlet” on Nov. 2 – 4.

“This isn’t the first time we have done a Shakespearean play,” theater director Casey O’Bryant said. “We did “Twelfth Night” two years ago, and we’ve also done Romeo and Juliet.”

“Hamlet” tells of a tale of the titular character, and his pertinacity to avenge his murdered father, the former king, by killing the new king, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius.

The story also presents the themes of revenge and justice.

But a performance doesn’t just happen; it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to pull this show off.

“Usually we would give the kids the script before the beginning of Summer, especially since it’s a different type of language,” Mr. O’Bryant said. “However, for various reasons, that didn’t happen, so we had put about 10 weeks into this thing as opposed to our usual 7 weeks.”

It’s not just the actors that help make a great show. Sound and lights are also a big part of what makes a production great.

“The setup of the soundboard is overall pretty easy,” senior Jaylee Rusk said. “It’s trying to time the acting cues with the button your supposed to push in order to make the right sound.”

The set, which includes some steampunk-style elements, was developed by tech theater teacher James Black and involves a lot of effort in order to draw attention to its audience.

“It takes a lot of hard work to make the set look as good as it does,” Black said. “We thought it would fit the theme of story; that’s why we worked so hard to get the look of it as perfect as it could be.”