As I've been writing book 3 of the Prep School Series, the upcoming Prep School Rivals, I thought it might be fun to share some of my thoughts and insights on the process. This post focuses on the function of the drama club's plays into the stories of each novel. Drama club was a huge part of my high school experience and so I made it one for my characters as well!
In the original Prep School Blues web series, one of our most popular episodes, "Romeo Oh Romeo" dealt with the drama club's production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.This was a really fun segment to shoot! I've always been a fan of plays within plays and I really enjoyed getting to see the actors playing their characters playing other characters. Bryan gave a hilarious rendition of Larsen reciting the famous prologue, while Sara and Andrew looked fabulous in their period costumes.
In the novels, since I get to devote more time to character development, it's been a real treat for me to expand on the drama club scenes. Acting and directing is Jack's passion and such an essential part of his character. I have tried in each book to have the selection of plays correspond to and comment on the character's lives. (SPOILERS AHEAD)
Prep School Blues: a novel featured two plays. The first, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, tells the historical story of a great leader betrayed and cast down by his supposedly loyal followers. In the story, Jack equates Larsen's downfall in the school social scene to Caesar's tragic fate. In a way, Jack's delivery of the famous funeral speech is a public defense of Larsen to their peers.
The second play, the ancient Greek classic Electra by Sophocles, in which the princess of Argos vows everlasting vengeance against her mother, mirrors the difficult relationships between children and their parents, especially Jack's painful reunion with his mother Miranda and the dysfunction within the Salman household.
Prep School Scandal centers around a performance of Romeo and Juliet, much like the episode in the web series, except with a much more complex set of circumstances. In addition to allowing Edgar and Gabrielle to share their first kiss onstage, the suicide of Juliet foreshadows Gabrielle's own attempt later on in the novel. I won't say that Juliet's example gave Gabrielle the idea, but teen suicide has been a very sad problem from the Elizabethan era to the modern day.
For Prep School Rivals, I have selected Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus for the kids to perform. This harrowing tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil with parallels another descent into the dark side among our main characters. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that in the play and in the story, Edgar plays the role of the seductive demon Mephistopheles, luring someone down a bad path, with very shocking consequences.
Believe it or not, we never did the easy plays in our high school either.
I'm really excited to share more thoughts as I continue to work on Prep School Rivals and I hope you have enjoyed some of these literary references. Hoping to put the book out by the end of the year so keep checking back for updates!
Thanks to everyone who has read the first two books and looking forward to sharing the third installment!
-Chris.
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