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The Broadway Players of FHS will stage a new play on Halloween weekend at Fairfield High School.

The play, Enter the Body, is adapted by Joy McCullough from her Young Adult novel of the same name. The show takes place in The Trap Room, a magical alternate dimension of sorts that simultaneously exists under the stage floor of any theatre where a play by William Shakespeare is currently being performed.

It is a storage space for cast-off set, prop, and costume pieces from every Shakespeare production over the last 400 years, and a sort of Purgatory for all The Bard’s characters who die within their play, specifically the females.

The characters themselves are zapped down into The Trap Room immediately after their death, and there they wait until they are summoned to be portrayed in a new production. At the start we see several well known characters enter the space trying to shake off the trauma of their recent demise.

A conversation begins between three notable teens who become the primary characters of the play. They are Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Cordelia (King Lear), and Ophelia (Hamlet). Each shares a brief recap of their stories with the assistance of various ensemble players.

These girls have issues with their stories which lead to discussions on life, parents, love, and sex. Through these, the playwright critiques the roles of girls and women historically, and how Shakespeare chose to portray women. Juliet asks how things could play out differently if they were allowed to alter elements of the story and make different choices for themselves. A retelling of each play is then performed with changes from the original that may or may not change each character’s ultimate fate.

Enter the Body serves as a great entry point and introduction to Shakespeare for actors and audiences alike. While some famous lines as written are peppered throughout, the reenacted portions of the classic plays are written in more modern language. Performing and understanding the complexities of Shakespeare’s Middle English can scare people away or serve as a barrier to enjoyment. This show removes that obstacle and gives the audience three plays within a play.

Bringing life to our central characters are Madalyn Smithburg (Juliet), Manon Kermott (Cordelia), and Mia Gates (Ophelia). Playing notable roles within the Ensemble are Nicole Hunger (Hamlet, Beatrice), Tristen Garretson (King Lear, Lord Capulet, Polonious), Daisy Trent (Lady Capulet, Catherine, Regan), and Lelan Blomme (Romeo, Claudius, France). The Ensemble of Players is rounded out by Logan Carroll, Jami Hames, Bella Jaeger, Divya Keith, Adeliz Suastegui, Elliott Ward, and Miracle Weathers.

Student crew members include Litith Bohin, Temperance Bettin, Alex Creer, Bidhi Dangol, Ronan Daniels, Tessa Holdeman, Olivia Kensel, Stormy Lint, Meara Malloy, Mei Martinez, Sullivan Mast, Charlie McKerley, Isaac Pappin, Arissa Pohren, and Dominick Xayavong.

Enter the Body is under the direction of Noel Wotherspoon. Mr. Meshari Alnouri serves as Technical Director, and Mrs. Betsie Wotherspoon is Costume Mistress.

Performances are Friday, October 31st and Saturday, November 1st at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, November 2nd at 2:00 PM in the Edgeton, Mitcheltree, Slechta Auditorium at FHS. Tickets are available at the door for $6 or free with a FCSD Activity Pass. It is General Seating, and the house will open thirty minutes before the performance.

It is suggested parents use their discretion with very young children. Content includes frequent discussion of death and killing, the topic of sex, stage combat with weapons, and use of stage blood.