Addison Trail students participate in Chicago Shakespeare Slam

Addison Trail seniors Hailey Chiovino (pictured above, left) and Petya Haralanova (pictured above, right) have been participating in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s fourth annual Chicago Shakespeare Slam since September – and the public is invited to view their final work.

The Chicago Shakespeare Slam is an event that encourages teens to engage with Shakespeare’s compositions in a fun and exciting way. Chiovino and Haralanova worked with students from high schools throughout the Chicago region to create a collaborative, filmed production of “Hamlet.” Although the program took place virtually this year because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, participants were still able to have a tremendous experience through a series of filmed workshops, live video conference gatherings and more.

According to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater website at www.chicagoshakes.com/education/student_programs/shakespeareslam, “Each team will rehearse, perform and record its contribution to the SLAM community’s unique staging of ‘Hamlet.’ Woven together with narration, the recorded scenes will tell the story of a ‘Hamlet’ that is inextricably bound to their own stories, as our students’ lives collide with history in the making.”

Two full-length films that include each school’s performance will air on Jan. 13 and 14. The Addison Trail students will be featured at 7 p.m. on Jan. 13. To watch the production, go to www.chicagoshakes.com/slam2020. The performances will present a gender-bending, racially diverse, student-directed and planned journey through “Hamlet.”