On the Friday night performance of the spring Shakespeare plays, everyone expected that it would rain. It didn’t. The production started at a later time than was originally planned, because of a rescheduled lacrosse game, so it required more lighting than usual. That caused a few difficulties.

All went well in an abridged version of The Winter’s Tale, performed before the sun had fully set. The jealous husband and his wife, the brothers and attendant lords were all reconciled, lovers were set to be married, the acting was excellent, and everyone lived happily ever after.

After a short intermission, The Merry Wives of Windsor began in rollicking style. Sir John Falstaff was in fine, portly form. Dr. Caius, the hot-tempered Frenchman (“By Gahr”), the Host of the Garter Inn, the Welsh Parson—all strutted magnificently. The Mistresses Quickly, Ford, and Page hatched their plots with lively wit.

And then the lights went out—came on—went out again.

It’s at times like this that actors are truly tested. But on Friday night the performers, unfazed, continued for some minutes in the dark, then stopped to wait for the lights to be fixed, and finally started up again where they left off—without missing a line or a beat.

This is true professionalism: the ability to continue, in character, regardless of unexpected events that would reduce lesser actors to panic or giggles. It’s what the legends of Broadway or London’s West End do. It’s what Shipley students do, too. They have earned the right to be called troupers.