Twelfth Night: Unit Play 2024

Love and attraction grows between the characters regardless of their exteriors. A change of outfit and behavior can’t hide who they really are underneath. The true identities of each character always shine through, and in moments of challenge, they learn something new about themselves.

Our one-act adaptation of this classic Shakespeare play is set in the 1950s to amplify how gender is explored in the script, and to emulate the ‘larger than life’ comedic style of classic ‘50s sitcoms. In the 1950s, gender roles were the foundation of American society. Men were the breadwinners and women the caretakers, and there wasn’t much deviation from those norms. Is this basis really so different from that of Shakespeare’s time? Our hope is that the spectrum of gender expression can shine through in our production, even during a time period with seemingly little wiggle room for exploration of gender. Let us be reminded that gender is expansive and has been for a long, long while.