Interlake High School students Holli Herdeg and Colin Marshall are working overtime to ensure their theater production will be ready to take the stage when the curtain rises this weekend. The two Interlake students have been hard at work co-directing and acting in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Colin, who will play the part of Demetrius, has been acting for as long as he can remember.

“I love doing theater, both on stage and behind the scenes,” he explained. “Directing is a lot of fun, and although it can be stressful, the end result is well worth the long rehearsals and memorizing the lines.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works for the stage and is widely performed around the world.

As co-directors of the high school production, Holli and Colin have the role of casting, explaining the text, and revealing the story to the other student actors.

“Shakespeare is a language all its own and at times can be difficult for people to grasp,” said Holli, a junior at Interlake. “But once you dive into the story it becomes enchanting.”

Colin navigated the stage during a recent dress rehearsal, giving direction during different scenes of the play. The detailed costumes were created by a senior student to keep the cost low.

“The cast and production crew are really hard workers and we have some very experienced thespians,” Colin said, who hopes to pursue a career in East Asian Studies and Theater. “I could see how it may be difficult to take direction from your peers, but all the theater students are very professional and it has allowed us to do an efficient job.”

Although the two directors feel comfortable taking the stage, they still deal with nerves leading up to the big performance.

“I love acting and I love being on stage, but I do admit it’s more intimidating to perform in front of a theater of your friends and peers,” Colin joked. “Of course the blinding spot lights make it a little easier to forget about the audience and concentrate of capturing your role,” Holli chimed in.

The full-scale production starring student actors from the IB theater class and theater production class will take the stage for three performances on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $5 for children and $7 for adults.

Interlake High School is located at 16245 N.E. 24th St. in Bellevue.

Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425.453.4602.