The Spire

Sophia Mariani ‘26

Chief Copy Editor

This past semester, I have been taking a course called Community English with Drama, that has both pushed me out of my comfort zone and connected me to the Worcester community. This course has been nothing like any other class that I have taken, and my other five classmates can say the same, considering it has never been offered at Holy Cross before. In only one semester, we have built strong connections with the people we have encountered at our community-based learning site, the Worcester Public Library. Every Wednesday of this semester, my class has been meeting with adult English Language Learners in the community at the library. We are collaborating on an abridged stage production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This project started from square one, with the first few classes focusing solely on getting to know each other as people and learning names. After a few weeks, we were diving into our scripts and have grown in line memorization, relationship building, and stage confidence ever since.

The most special part of this whole experience for me has been our high-energy CBL rehearsals as a cast. I can always count on our sessions to be a warm and inclusive environment. This course is taught by both Professor Hsu and Professor Douglas-Osmundson, who have put a great deal of time and care into making the vision for this collaboration come to life. Professor D-O noted that “As Professor Hsu and I were planning this course, we hoped for a healthy enrollment of Holy Cross students and community partners. We couldn’t have known then that the participants would all be so passionate and invested in this course!” Considering most of us did not come from theater backgrounds, the mutual support has been crucial to improving our acting skills. My classmate Keara Papa ‘26 explains, “I was initially hesitant to enroll in the course because I have no acting experience, and felt uncomfortable with the idea of performing Shakespeare of all things. But, I learned really quickly that almost everyone in the class is in the same spot as me with little acting experience and questioning how the play would actually work.” This apprehension is something that many of us shared at first, when coming into a setting with new people. This feeling quickly dissolved upon practice and bonding with our classmates. As a group, we have worked through the intricacies of Hamlet’s themes together and are thrilled at the outcome.

Our professors are a powerhouse pairing, as Prof. Hsu provides a vigorous background of Classics history, while Prof. D-O is an active playwright who has strong visions for our production. Prof. Hsu noted that “The vision for the course was to create a class in which community-based learning is the focus, not an add-on component. I wanted the course to serve the needs of Worcester’s ELL community while providing a space for collaboration and co-creation with Holy Cross students.” We have only grown in confidence and comfortability each week, both as castmates and as actors. Professor Hsu went on to say, “I have been thrilled to see how the formation of a joint acting company has fostered friendships and meaningful relationships among people from different countries with different ages, native languages, class status, and education levels. So much credit for this belongs to Prof. D-O, whose work as director has brought us all together.” 

Prof. D-O has been teaching Shakespeare performances for many years, and also shared some words on her excitement for this production. “It’s incredibly exciting and rewarding to work with folks on such challenging material all the while accessing deep emotions and building linguistic confidence.” Our growth as a class has been exciting to watch develop each week. Prof. D-O also shared that, “Early in the process, we knew we had a winner on our hands when the English learners started coming early to class, full of questions and staging ideas. I couldn’t ask for a more engaged group of students and a more supportive pair of institutions as Holy Cross and the Worcester Public Library. The cast members are eager to perform next week, and we know it will be a wonderful show, but the audience will never see the best part: the moments in rehearsal that make us an acting company.” We have truly built a special bond in this course and I am grateful to have been a part of it.

One challenge that this course offered was learning our lines in Shakespearean language, as this does not always feel natural. As Prof. Hsu describes, “Performance of a Shakespearean drama puts everyone on equal footing and nudges us all to take on a challenge together!” The grit and determination from our community members has been especially inspiring and motivating for us Holy Cross students. Papa went on to explain, “I love how supportive the cast is of each other, especially in the spontaneous clapping that erupts when someone acts out a scene well! I have enjoyed the opportunity to form connections with members beyond the Holy Cross community. I am so inspired by how they have shown up to every rehearsal with enthusiasm and fully engage with the script. This energy makes me genuinely excited to come to CBL each Wednesday.” 

Both professors are offering the course again in the fall, with a new title of CLAS 199: Drama in Community. Prof. Hsu shared some insight on this new class, saying, “We will be partnering with the ELL program at the Worcester Public Library on Wednesday evenings to stage Sophocles’ Antigone. In this famous play, Antigone buries the body of her rebellious brother Polyneices, in defiance of her uncle Creon, who forbids the burial in the name of political stability. On campus we will also study its long history of adaptation as a resistance play. Everyone is welcome to join us!” This course has been a wonderful and extremely transformative experience–I highly recommend it!

Lastly, my classmates and I are excited to invite the Holy Cross community to our final production of an abridged version of Hamlet: April 29 at 6pm in The Pit!