By Holly Fesperman Lee

Salisbury Post

FAITH — Fifth-graders in the academically gifted programs at Bostian and Faith elementary schools showcased their Shakespeare knowledge Friday with a presentation for parents.

Faith students performed a classic William Shakespeare play, “Romeo and Juliet,” and Bostian students presented interesting Shakespeare trivia. Both presentations were held in Faith’s auditorium.

Gail Foltz, Faith’s academically gifted teacher, said students had been learning about Shakespeare’s life and the time period he lived. They’ve also been comparing and contrasting life then and now.

After the play and the trivia presentation, students ate a traditional meal in Faith’s gym still in full shakespeare costume.

Ryan Williams, Faith student and king for the day, gave the order for students to begin eating their chicken legs, wheat rolls, yams and vegetable sticks.

Ryan played the king in the play. He said he enjoyed all of the recent Shakespeare activities, but acting out the play was the hardest.

Rebecca Corl played the queen in “Romeo and Juliet.” She also played Juliet’s nurse.

She agreed with Williams that it took practice to learn the lines for her characters. She worked on them every night.

Children in Faith’s academically gifted class tried out for the parts they wanted to play and then the class voted on someone to play each part.

Savannah Deal, a Bostian student, said her group put on several plays in their class, which is taught by Donna Rymer.

Bostian students conducted Internet research to learn about Shakespeare. They shared with the audience that many common sayings, including, “Give the devil his due,” and, “In a pickle,” are Shakespeare quotes.

Deal said she was reading a book recently and came across a saying and recognized it as a Shakespeare quote.

David Comer, another Bostian student, said he enjoyed learning about the Globe Theatre the most. He said he thought of it as Broadway in old times with no technology.

Christian Houpe played Tibult in Faith’s play. He didn’t have to think twice about his favorite part of the experience. “Killing Mercutio!” he shouted.

Christian also served as stage manager. “That was really fun going behind the curtains,” he said.

Foltz said she noticed that Christian wanted more responsibility so she put him in charge.

Amber Allman, a Bostian student, said she enjoyed learning about where Shakespeare got his inspiration from.

She said she enjoys writing, and found out Shakespeare got inspiration from family and things around him– some of the same places she gets her inspiration.

Contact Holly Lee at 704-797-7683 or hlee@salisburypost.com. & lt;i/ & gt;