The talented performing arts students of Bow Valley High School will be presenting their latest production tonight (Jan. 7) on YouTube.

The performance starts at 7 p.m. and can be accessed here

Performing arts instructor Adrienne Fossheim says it will be a 'best of' performance of the works of William Shakespeare, who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. 

"We have William Shakespeare himself hosting the show, so he walks around and introduces all the themes and interacts with all actors, We've got kind of a 'best of' of all the classics. Romeo and Juliet, A Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Richard the Third, even some Julius Ceasar, and Hamlet--"To be or not to be"--is in there as well."

It was originally planned to be an outdoor performance before COVID-19 rules were tightened. Practices were held on the stage at Mitford, of course following safety protocols.

When that option no longer existed, they moved the production into the high school's gym and were assisted by the school's AV students in capturing the production.

Fossheim says she admires the determination of her students.

"I'm beyond proud of this bunch of kids. I feel so lucky to work with the most amazingly adaptable and creative kids. Even though we had so much fun with the original vision of this project being outside, you know they were able to adapt at a moment's notice and put the entire thing together in the gymnasium over a weekend. We weren't able to have that live audience that we hoped for, but being able to film it as a live show and getting to share that collective experience tonight will still be amazing."

She says the arts are more important than ever during the pandemic.

"I say often that this pandemic has changed everything, and also changed nothing at the same time. Drama and performing arts give students a space where they belong, a place where they can be themselves and be part of a community. We need that now more than ever. We need arts more than ever, not only to make sense of this world around us but to respond to it."

The production is about one hour in length.