The Harlequins have a rich history at Saint Ignatius for more than 75 years. Each season, students join with girls from area high schools to produce a play in the fall and a musical in the spring.
There are various ways for students to get involved in our shows, whether it is onstage, backstage, or in the orchestra pit.
Our alumni include Broadway performers, television producers, and (even) presidents of Saint Ignatius High School.
Fall Play: The Laramie Project
Show Dates: November 11 - 13, 2022
Harlequins Interest Meeting and Audition Workshop: August 25 at 4 p.m. in the Thomas Room
Auditions: Open Auditions August 30, Callbacks August 31
In October 1998, a twenty-one-year-old student at the University of Wyoming was kidnapped, severely beaten, and left tied to a fence in the middle of the prairie outside Laramie, Wyoming. His bloody, bruised, and battered body was not discovered until the next day, and he died several days later in an area hospital. His name was Matthew Shepard, and he was the victim of this assault because he was gay. Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie over the course of a year and a half, in the aftermath of the beating and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard. They conducted more than 200 interviews with the people of the town. Some people interviewed were directly connected to the case, while others were citizens of Laramie, and the breadth of the reactions to the crime is fascinating. Kaufman and Tectonic Theater members have constructed a deeply moving theatrical experience from these interviews and their own experiences in Laramie. THE LARAMIE PROJECT is a breathtaking collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable.
Looking to audition? Find out more information here.
Spring Musical: Something Rotten!
Show Dates:
March 24 - 26, 2023
March 31 - April 1, 2023
Created by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick, and successful screenwriters Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, Something Rotten was lauded by audience members and critics alike, receiving several Best Musical nominations and hailed by Time Out New York as "the funniest musical comedy in at least 400 years".
Set in the 1590s, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as "The Bard." When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self, and all that jazz.
Check back in November for our December interest meeting and audition week dates.
Stage and Technical Crew
Students have the opportunity to learn and work in a state-of-the-art theater while mentoring with professionals who excel in their fields. All those wishing to join stage crew will be trained in how to work the shop: building, power tools, and theatre etiquette. Those wishing to join build crew are not obligated to work run crew. Build crew meets 3:30-6:30 Monday through Thursday. Run crew members will be selected further into the show process.
The Harlequins' mentor program is unparalleled. We believe that students should be empowered to discover themselves as artists rather than just watching others design. Our professional mentors in stage management, light design, sound design, set design, costume design, props, and electrical maintenance supervise our student designers so that, in collaboration with the director, they can create a production. Interested students first work to learn the ropes of their area, then may be selected to work as assistant to our junior and senior designers and managers. Our students leave their time with the Harlequins able to work and design at the professional level.
Interested in getting involved with crew and design? Contact John Ebert, the Breen Center Technical Director, at
jebert@ignatius.edu.