The 23rd Annual CHS Shakespeare Festival will be on Friday, April 25, 2025, and once again the students at Columbia High School will be bringing the works of the Bard to life in creative and — dare we say — fun ways.
The festival features student performances celebrating the works of William Shakespeare, “but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s some stuffy, highfalutin’ presentation of the Bard,” says CHS Shakespeare teacher and festival advisor Stephen MacPherson. Past performances have presented the ghost of Hamlet Sr. on roller skates (sorry, not actually Hamlet), an epic Star Wars lightsaber battle between Macbeth and Macduff, a dance-off between Hamlet and Laertes, and an interpretative dance of Ophelia’s descent into madness.
An emcee offering a BardBar as a prize during a contest in between scenes
“It’s amazing to see what a teenager’s mind can do with Shakespeare’s stories,” said MacPherson. “The language, which at first can be an impediment, opens infinite possibilities once students find their way in. And they love it. So many students are involved that each period has different performances save the amazing opening act by the Infinite Step Team.”
The Infinite Step Team opens each period.
This year’s festival will include scenes from Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titus Andronicus, Henry IV Part One, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and more. Classes and the Shakespeare Festival Club are in the process of selecting their scenes now. A finalized schedule will be created the day before the festival and posted on Canvas so students can let their parents know which period they will be performing.
All performers receive a t-shirt with this year’s winning design created by senior Icelin Gonzales. Over 400 students and staff voted in this year’s logo contest. Other gear with Icelin’s design can be purchased here to help support the festival.
The festival is free and open to the public. Attendees just need to check in at the security desk at 17 W. Parker. The first few center rows are reserved for parents and guests.
This story was originally published on March 17, 2025.
