![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Students travel to Ashland to watch performances of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Joel Morel (12), Esha Deokar (‘19), Richard Wang (‘19), Anjali Sheth (12), and Katrina Ipser (‘19) participate in a theater workshop led by cast members of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on last year’s trip. This year, 23 students and three teachers from the upper school traveled to Ashland to visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and see plays like “Macbeth,” “As You Like It,” “All’s Well That Ends Well” and “La Comedia of Errors.”
September 29, 2019
Against a background of paper notes strung between colorful beams dappled with blue light, two men dressed in blazers and trousers wheel a third cast member wearing a gray waistcoat across the stage on a towering ladder. He hurriedly jumps off, and the rest of the crew scatter as a lady in a sleeveless cardigan rushes onto the stage. This YouTube video of “As You Like It” from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is just one of the multiple productions by the OSF, a Shakespeare repertory theater based in the city of Ashland, Oregon.
This weekend, leaving on Friday and returning on Sunday, 23 students and three teachers from the upper school traveled to Ashland by bus to experience their world of theater, which featured productions of “Macbeth,” “As You Like It,” “All’s Well That Ends Well” and “La Comedia of Errors,” a modern, bilingual adaptation of the traditional Shakespeare play “A Comedy of Errors.”
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival offers performances in the Angus Bowman Theatre, the Thomas Theatre and the Allen Elizabethan Theatre, which combined can seat up to 2,151 audience members.
Upon arrival on Friday, the group watched “Macbeth” followed by two more plays yesterday and a final play today. Apart from seeing the productions, students and faculty attended acting workshops, discussion groups and introductions to the plays. Theater student Maya Franz (11), who has participated in the trip since her sophomore year, values the quality of the productions with “phenomenal” acting and creative direction.
“[Friday night] we saw Macbeth, and it was a really spectacular production,” Maya said. “The acting was brilliant, and the technical aspects were so smoothly integrated that it made the show incredibly intense and immersive.”
While not watching plays or touring the stages, students explored the city of Ashland. Actors often are residents, living there to rehearse for months. Since actors also perform in multiple pieces, audiences are able to experience multiple facets of their skills.
Senior Jai Bahri, who has participated in the trip since freshman year, recalls meeting members of the company around the town.
“I ran into [an actor] at Starbucks. It was just really fun getting to talk to them [and] tell them about how much we love their performances,” Jai said.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival also offers students a chance to watch plays outside of the traditional setting of an English classroom, whether it be an adaptation of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” accompanied by eighties’ music or “Twelfth Night” set in the 1930s to original jazz music.
Not only does the festival stage productions from Shakespeare, but they also bring in performances from other writers, such as “Snow in Midsummer,” a ghost story based on a Chinese play written during the 14th century.
“This is just wonderful, because we watch different productions [in class], students act things out, because I keep trying to remind them that reading them is really artificial, and it’s meant to be seen,” upper school English teacher Dr. Beth Wahl, who has chaperoned the trip for multiple years, said. “It’s really exciting for me to see students get engaged.
