“Twelfth Night” Times Two!

Twelfth Night has been produced thousands of times since its premier in 1602. As time has gone on and the story has been revived again and again, each production has become increasingly unique in its own way, and no two productions are the same. As Abington Friends School moves deeper into its rehearsal process for Twelfth Night, People’s Light Theater just forty-five minutes away in Malvern has wrapped up its production of Twelfth Night, starring two of our seniors, Clellan Hirlinger ‘26 and Theo Parker ‘26.

While here they are both working behind the scenes to curate music and dive into the historical background of our show, the two took the stage at People’s Light as a part of their Performance Lab, sharing the role with five other students from the greater Philadelphia area.

To shine a light on the talent of these two students, I spoke to Hirlinger and Parker to hear more about the process of these two unique shows.

What work are you doing on Twelfth Night at People’s Light?

Parker: I am playing the role of Fabian, who is… in our show, a bartender, [and] a servant to the duke Orsino. I’m doing this along with six other actors. We’re cycling the role… so we each get an opportunity to perform throughout the run.

Hirlinger: We are also all in a Performance Lab… [it] is pretty much an acting class and we’re working on scenes from The Tempest.

What is it like sharing that role with other people, both in the rehearsal space and also getting to watch others perform?

Parker: I think it’s nice to see other people’s renditions of lines and movements that the director tells us to do. It is a little bit nerve wracking because you don’t always get a chance to do something when it’s blocked, and then you’re expected to know it the next time that you do it. It’s also hard to make your interpretation of something when you don’t do something [in rehearsal].

Hirlinger: I was worried that so many people playing one role would invite comparison or insecurity, but we have been encouraged to each have our own version of the character and we have some freedom of choices we make in the production.

What has it been like to work in a professional theater setting, and have you ever worked in one before?

Parker: I have not worked in one before. I think it’s a really great experience and it’s a really cool environment. Everybody was really welcoming, really warm to us… It’s much faster than a school show, which I kind of expected, but I didn’t expect the pace to be as fast as it was. But it’s [been] a good experience for me.

Hirlinger: This is my first time working in a professional production and it is basically the best case scenario. The community at People’s Light has been exceptionally welcoming and inclusive. They treat us kids like profession[als]… [and] with respect. They are so kind and funny and they have really made an effort to connect with us. I’ve also learned about the differences in a professional production, especially in terms of timeline. We have fewer weeks to rehearse and rehearsals last way longer than in a high school production. The accelerated process definitely took some getting used to but the constant support around us made it easier to adjust.

How is the show at People’s Light different from our production, and how is it similar?

Hirlinger: I think both People’s Light and [AFS’ production] highlight the pre-existing queerness in Twelfth Night. At People’s Light we have learned a lot as a cast about gender and sexuality norms in Shakespeare’s time which has been so fascinating and beneficial to the story telling.

Parker: Kittson [O’Neill, Upper School theatre director,] has kind of kept [the ending] basically the same, while Andrew [Watring] our director and adapter, [has] changed it up. Viola goes off with Olivia. Orsino goes off with Maria, and Sebastian and Antonio are together.

Hirlinger: At AFS the queerness is also a big part of the production. They also both have a sense of whimsy and fantasy, even though People’s Light’s production is more modeled after the modern world.

How have those similarities and differences helped to inspire your dramaturgy and composition work in AFS’ production?

Parker: I’ve definitely been inspired by the dramaturg from [the People’s Light] production, because she is so good. She used to be at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is like, the mecca of Shakespeare festivals… She knows her stuff and how to [delve] deep into the script, even in the most mundane moments. [I]t’s definitely inspired me to look deeper into the script and look deeper into Shakespeare’s intentions with moments, and intentions in why he wrote this at the time that he did.

Hirlinger: I was worried that I would get [People’s Light’s composer] Liz Filios’ songs stuck in my head and have trouble writing my own, but the productions are set in such distinct worlds it hasn’t been an issue. …Liz has been an incredible role model for me in both her art and her work ethic; she is able to pump out songs super fast and she is able to adapt extremely well.

If you’re interested in pursuing opportunities like the ones Hirlinger and Parker are working on now, People’s Light theater has a multitude of teen workshops for students grades eight through twelve. Theater is a wonderfully unique and constantly evolving field. No two productions are ever the same, and there is always something new to learn.