Instead of reading Shakespeare from a book, students had the opportunity to see one of his most famous plays performed for them on stage Monday.
Actors from Shakespeare at Play, a Burbank-based theater group, performed a 30-minute version of "Romeo and Juliet" for about 40 students at the school's auditorium.
Dressed in traditional costumes from the Renaissance, six actors performed the play about the two young lovers caught in a feud between their families.
"Shakespeare is meant to be seen and heard and not read," said Debbie Gates, executive director of Shakespeare at Play.
"We make sure every child sees it."
As the play unfolded, the actors narrated the scenes that were not performed because of time constraints.
It was the first time that Sean Jarrett, who portrayed Romeo, performed for students at the high school.
Jarrett, 25, has been acting since he was 14 years old.
"It's great exposing the greatest playwright in the world to students who haven't had the opportunity to see his work," Jarrett said.
The theater group picked "Romeo and Juliet" to perform for the students because it's a play that talks about making decisions at a young age, Gates said.
"Romeo and Juliet is about choices," Gates said.
"It's not the greatest love story told. Everybody in the play makes a wrong choice. That's why it's a tragedy."
Derek Medina was pleased the group chose Romeo and Juliet.
Medina, 37, played Mercutio, Romeo's best friend.
"It's a great opportunity to be able to perform this piece," Medina said. "Actors can enlighten the text, see action with words that are 400 years old."
Actor Mario Perez, 26, who played Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, felt that any student of Shakespeare should see his plays.
"Hopefully, they will get an idea that Shakespeare is accessible and it's not just about reading plays from a boring textbook," Perez said.
"It's about seeing it live. That's what makes it accessible and interesting."
For Jasmine Sanchez, 17, the play made more sense when she saw the parts acted out.
"I didn't understand the words when I first read the [play]," Jasmine said.
"The acting, they were very expressive, with their facial expressions. I thought it was good."
Natalie Lopez agreed with Jasmine's sentiment.
"Reading it is difficult but seeing it is more interesting," the 17-year-old said.
