The 2025 Fall Festival: Reality House was one of the more ambitous projects the program has taken on, writing, producing and performing an entirely new play (adapted from Shakespeare's Hamlet) in just one season.

Production Highlights:

• An NTA Theatre Original: Reality House was an entirely original NTA Theatre production, transforming Shakespeare’s Hamlet into a high-energy reality television competition. The adaptation had never been produced before and was developed specifically for our students and audiences.

• Students helped shape the visual identity of the production through character, costume, concept, and promotional design, making Reality House a reflection of their own creative ideas.

• For the first time in NTA Theatre history, we took a production beyond our own stage. The cast and crew traveled to Peterson Elementary, where they adapted the show to a new performance space and performed for more than 300 middle school students.

• Audience participation was built directly into the production, with reality-show-inspired games and choices giving audiences opportunities to influence portions of the action.

Reality House 

This production transformed Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy into a high-drama, high-comedy reality TV competition. Hamlet mourns his father and rages at his uncle Claudius, who has married Gertrude and seized the crown. Meanwhile, contestants Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius, and the influencer duo Rosencrantz & Guildenstern stir chaos through alliances, betrayals, and viral-worthy antics. Confessionals replace soliloquies, and mini-games give the audience the power to influence the action. The season builds to a finale of ultimate showdowns, shocking exits, and the question: Who controls the narrative in the Reality House?