'What Light through Yonder Window Breaks': Northfield Theatre Students Earn Lead Roles in the 41st Annual DPS Shakespeare Festival

Roby Thurmond (freshman) as the Jester and Madalynn Glaze (junior) as Queen Elizabeth pose with the rest of The Nighthawk Cast.

Friday, April 25th brought appropriately drizzly weather to celebrate the British Bard William Shakespeare. But despite the rain and chill air, the local Fox News channel estimated that more than 5,000 students attended the 41st annual Denver Public Schools Shakespeare Festival. The DPS Shakespeare Fest is the longest-running student Shakespeare festival in the country, and invites students K-12 to try their hand at some of the greatest 16th century plays and poems that England has to offer.

The Nighthawk Cast brought 17 students to perform scenes and monologues from Richard lll; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Twelfth Night; Pericles, Prince of Tyre; and A Comedy of Errors. After the opening ceremonies, the group paraded through the Denver Center for Performing Arts complex, and into the grassy open space that holds the festival. Northfield performances were done in the Swan, temporarily renamed from the Jones Theatre for the sake of some good ol’ fashioned Shakesperian vibes. Gabriela Federico, a Sophomore and first-time Shakespeare Fest attendee, commented “I think the most important thing to note would be the community…It’s a group of people…bringing the words of a famous guy to life in the way they were originally intended to be, presented to the world with their own flavor.” Federico performed as the Duchess of York in a scene from Richard III.

Aside from performing themselves, Northfield students also had the opportunity to view other live Shakespeare pieces in tents and theaters spread around the complex. Many elementary and middle schools got creative with their portrayal of the Bard’s greatest works. 5th graders from Holm Elementary, for example, performed a scene from Romeo and Juliet in Spanish. Countless younger students from Lincoln Elementary and other schools could be spotted walking around dressed as brick walls - a famously comedic speaking character from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. When asked to comment on the experience of attending the festival, Northfield senior Shannon Studts said “It’s a really cool thing to work with classical texts, and we get to perform in the cutest environment with all ages!” Studts performed a monologue as Olivia from Twelfth Night, and is joining the Collaborative Arts Project at Molloy University for musical theatre this fall.

Arguably the most notable element of the 2025 Shakespeare Festival, two Northfield students were selected to perform classic roles in the opening ceremonies. Roby Thurmond, a freshman, confidently kicked off the festival as the jester with an interactive comedy routine. Junior Madalynn Glaze played Queen Elizabeth, regally welcoming everyone to the festivities. The two NHS theatre students led the parade to the DCPA, and promenaded through the tents, taking pictures with DPS students and teachers. This is the first year that Northfield students have ever been selected to participate in the opening ceremonies cast (featuring the jester, the queen, and Shakespeare himself), and NHS Troupe 8710 was thrilled to recognize Thurmond and Glaze for their accomplishment. Glaze said “Playing Queen Elizabeth in the 41st DPS Shakespeare Festival has truly been an honor I will never forget. It is amazing seeing so many young people coming together to appreciate this timeless art.” Thurmond added “Being a part of a group of kids who also love theatre is amazing…I like Shakespeare because of his passion for writing and his ability to make many taboo subjects of his time hilarious.”

Though Shakesperian times are well behind us now, The Nighthawk Cast along with thousands of other DPS students continue to remind the world that his works still have a profound impact on literature and performance. Northfield students proudly represented NHS with their acting, enthusiasm, and abiding love for the performing arts. In act 4 scene 5 of Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote “‘We know what we are, but know not what we may be”. For the young performers at the 41st annual DPS Shakespeare Festival, these words ring true.