“The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” is a show about young love, and the Greater Lakes Area Performing Arts production will have a little youth on display as 17-year-old Dean Root of Brainerd and 16-year-old Olivia Notch of Pillager are in the titular roles.

Both are performing with GLAPA in Pequot Lakes for the first time, but neither is a stranger to the stage. Root has been in a number of school productions, but recalls his performance in “Almost, Maine” at Brainerd High School as one of his favorites, because he was able to showcase a bit of emotional range.

“I played a husband in a struggling marriage,” Root said. “Up until then, I had only played comedies, so it was the first time that I got to express some emotion through theater. I would spend lots of time beforehand listening to music and trying to get into the mood. I think it will always be my favorite.”

For Notch, her favorite role thus far was as Wendy in “Peter Pan.”

“That one was really fun,” Notch said. “The songs are so fun in it, and I really liked that.”

The duo both said they have been wanting to work with GLAPA for some time, and both jumped at the first opportunity to audition.

“I've actually been wanting to do different things with GLAPA for a while,” Notch said. “I've been looking into it for a really long time, then they didn't have shows for so long because of COVID, so when this one came up, I was like, ‘I don't care what it is, I'm going to audition.’”

Notch said she didn’t feel as though she had a great audition, and was incredibly excited to get a callback shortly thereafter.

The cast and crew have been rehearsing for roughly two months under director Karla Johnson.

“Everyone here is really amazing,” Root said. “I have met a couple of them through theater classes at CLC (Central Lakes College), but I haven’t been able to work with them before. I’m just very grateful to be a part of this with everyone.”

Now that the two are deeply familiar with the show, they have enjoyed the complexity of each character. With both of them more experienced with acting in comedies and other lighter fare, they see portraying Romeo and Juliet as “a new step” in their acting careers.

Notch has also enjoyed learning that the more she delves into William Shakespeare’s iconic work, the more she has noticed that issues, thoughts and desires of 16th-century people are very similar to that of 21st-century people.

“It’s been fun to just figure out that people really don't change that much over time,” Notch said. “Juliet is a teenage girl, and she's just like all the other teenage girls I know today … There were people a long time ago who had the same struggles as I do now.”

The challenges of such an old, well-known story have not fazed the young duo, with both simply looking for new avenues to entertain a crowd.

“I love to entertain people,” Root said. “I always have. Ever since I was a kid trying to recreate the shows that my parents just watched. The big thing for me is that I want to put some serious emotion into this and really push my acting to a new level.”

This being a production done by cast members young and old, the two feel as though there is a higher expectation put on them to give their best possible performances. They do not resent this fact, however, saying they enjoy their work being taken seriously.

“I want it to be believable and realistic,” Notch said. “So many times theater comes off as just theater, but really, my goal is to make the emotions all seem real, so that the audience can actually feel something when they watch it.”

Emotions may have to be on display, as the archaic English dialect often associated with Shakespeare is used throughout the play, which Notch feels adds a bit of pressure on the cast.

“Not only do you have to be able to speak (in that style), but you have to really be able to portray your emotions, because otherwise the audience is going to have no clue what you're saying if you don't say it with emotion,” Notch said. “I feel like that's a lot of where people are going to get things from. They're maybe not going to know that Juliet is sad by what she's saying.”

“We have put a lot of work into it,” Root said. “The people are amazing in it. If you don't want to come for the story or anything, come to support your friends that are in it, or just come to support some actors who really love doing what they're doing.”

“The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”

• When: Tuesday-Thursday, Aug. 3-5, and Saturday-Monday, Aug. 7-9.
• Time: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3-5, 7 and 9; 2 p.m. Aug. 8
• Where: Pequot Lakes High School auditorium.
• Tickets: Visit glapa.org and click "Buy Tickets" or call Pequot Lakes Community Education at 218-568-9200. Cost is $14 for adults, $12 for ages 60 and older, and $10 for students ages 18 and younger.

Dan Determan may be reached at 218-855-5879 or dan.determan@pineandlakes.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Dan.