This year, the cast and crew of Spence’s Upper School Fall Play presented The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), the Performing Arts Department’s “newest, bawdiest most Shakespearean-est adventure” yet. The show offered a whirlwind pace, moving scenery and flying costumes while engaging people of all ages in unexpected ways with one of the world’s most famous playwrights.

Spence’s new Director of Drama Jana Kreutziger put much effort and thought into the selection of her first play at the School. Paying homage to Spence’s longstanding tradition of Shakespeare performances, Kreutziger also wanted a flexible script that presented plenty of opportunity and possibility. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) was originally written for three men, but with up to 20 parts available, it allowed for multiple roles for the students and for Kreutziger to add her personal twists and hallmarks.

While keeping in line with the Spence custom, the troop also took an “intelligent and fun look at Shakespeare’s works,” Kreutziger said. And its swiftness challenged the girls, exposing them to new aspects of the well-known works while also testing their abilities to “memorize difficult lines and to perform within the parameters of good comic timing,” she added. “It was quite the feat and they did it beautifully.”

Kreutziger and her students initiated a month-long campaign, including a student-produced poster, T-shirts, Shakespeare trivia games, announcements at assemblies, script lines posted in the 91st Street building, a Lower School visit and a News 91 video. The result: full houses all three nights and standing room only on Friday.

Thrilled with the success of the cast and crew, Kreutziger shared her “students were willing, brave and committed to doing what [she] asked, which was all pretty phenomenal.” But she is most proud that the girls functioned as a true ensemble. “They each got to shine because they worked as a group,” she noted. “Few plays give that opportunity and few students are willing to take it.”

View a full gallery of photos here.