Local middle and high school students doth put a modern spin on William Shakespeare’s classic “Romeo and Juliet.” The play opens Friday, Nov. 5 at the Westminster Theatre, part of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Point Loma. The performances will be free and open to the public. Vanguard, the artistic outreach mission of Westminster Presbyterian Church, is sponsoring the play. “Shakespeare transcends age groups. It transcends time periods,” said Thomas Haine, the play’s director. There is no one better to perform adolescent love than adolescents, Haine said. Romeo will be played by Correia Middle School student Clifton McKenzie. Juliet will be played by San Diego High International’s Katya Martin-Gullans. The five-act play has been in production since September. Haine said he volunteered to direct the play to teach the students how to “act Shakespeare” at a time when many drama programs in schools are suffering because of significant budget cuts. “My hope was to try to supplement the drama education that they have at Point Loma High or San Diego High International,” Haine said. The students rehearse once or twice a week for the play that will have modern clothing, music and stage presence. There will even be a strobe-lighting effect and gunshots will be heard from the stage. “It’s really a fast-paced production and a modern concept,” Haines said. However, the language is still the same as the original version. “It seems like the younger you are, the more oblivious you are to stage fright,” Haines said. Many of the students have significant stage experience and have participated in Vanguard productions before. “They’ve been remarkable,” Haine said. Generally, Vanguard offers a fall theatre workshop. However, this year Haine wanted to turn that into a Shakespeare workshop in order to teach specific Shakespeare acting techniques. “What’s been the most fun is to watch them grow and be able to understand the poetry involved in the play and to convey that understanding through their acting,” Haine said. He stressed the notions of beauty and brevity present throughout the play. Haine is an attorney who has been involved in area theater productions for 15 years. He said he enjoys volunteering his time. He has directed several other plays and has performed in other area Shakespeare plays as well. “ROMEO AND JULIET” • WHEN: Nov. 5 and 6 at 8 p.m.; Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. • WHERE: Westminster Theatre, 3598 Talbot St. • INFORMATION: For tickets, call the Point Loma Box Office at (619) 224-6263