Fifty-two New Trier High School students will bring Shakespeare to the Winnetka Campus starting Wednesday, Sept. 23, when the Performing Arts Division stages "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the McGee Theatre.

The production runs three performances: Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m.; and Friday, Sept. 25, at 4:30 p.m. The show runs just under two hours with no intermission. Ticket information is available on the school's fall play announcement page, linked below.

Hilerre Kirsch, Winnetka Performing Arts Coordinator, directs the show. Students Gabe Herman and Izzy Laude serve as co-directors, and Will Radzik is stage manager. A cast of 21 and a crew of 31 round out the company.

The students started preparing well before the first day of school. According to the school's announcement, students spent part of their summer memorizing lines and working on designs. Rehearsals and set construction began the week before classes started.

"It has been an absolute pleasure to work with this band of remarkably committed young artists who so eagerly jumped at this opportunity to delve into a Shakespeare play!" Kirsch said in the announcement.

The professional production staff backing the student performers includes technical director Anders Jacobson, set designer Denise Karczewski, lighting designer Dave Ferguson, sound designer Michael Huey, costume designer Alaina Moore, makeup and hair designer Krista D'Agostino, and composer G. Scott Russell.

Donations support Sofi's Greenhouse

The Fall Play Company is asking audiences to consider donating to Sofi's Greenhouse, a rooftop greenhouse on the Winnetka Campus built in memory of Sofi Troglia, a 2020 New Trier graduate. The New Trier Educational Foundation, District 203, and the Troglia family partnered to build the $300,000 space, which opened in October 2020.

The greenhouse serves students in New Trier's Education and Life Skills (ELS) and Transition Programs. Students there learn plant care, basic home economics, gardening and nutrition skills in a space that accommodates learners of all abilities.

Donation forms are linked from the school's fall play announcement page. The final performance is Friday, Sept. 25, at 4:30 p.m.