I had the pleasure of attending the Shakesperiments’ performance of “Much Ado About Nothing” on Saturday, Oct. 9, the third night of the play’s performance. It was my first exposure to something put on by the student-run association† and I was not let down.† From the minute I walked in, I was blown away with the professionalism.
The program, created by George Myatt ’11, was both beautiful and very informative. There was a synopsis provided to help people understand the play a little before it began and also notes from the Director and Artistic Director.
It was nice to have something to do while I waited for the production to begin and I learned about the group and the play.
The play was wonderful and I was very impressed with the entire production. The costumes were spectacular and the casting was done very well. There were few props, which made the production better because the audience was able to focus on the characters, their words and actions more.
The annunciation was clear; emotions came through vocal tones, hand movements, and dramatizing.
The audience was laughing for a majority of the play, and although many of the lines were funny, what made them even better was the brilliant way that the actors brought them to life.
The physicality and hand movements also helped those who did not understand the diction of Shakespeare to understand what was going on.
The hilarious inclusion of members of the audience was great.
Also, the group pulled off some singing and dancing that helped to make the play.
All the actors did a great job. There were several females acting in male roles and they pulled off the parts very well; I never had to remind myself that they were playing males. Maria Cox ’12, as Don Pedro, did an excellent job portraying a male character.
Although the entire cast did a marvelous job, three other actors really stood out to me. Matt Policastro ’13 as Leonato, Nina Takacs ’11 as Beatrice, and Owen Reynolds ’11 as Dogberry. They gave truly phenomenal performances.
All characters added to the play, of course, for there is no unimportant character in Shakespeare’s work.† Lauren Tweddale ’13 did a great job pulling off a sweet Hero.
Dan Hollingsworth ’12 added much comedic value to the production as Balthasar and the Messenger.
Steve Schott ’14 did a truly amazing acting job as one of the leads, Benedick. Ryan Shafranek ’13 was casted perfectly for the part of Claudio.
Isabelle Briggs ’13 pulled off the villain Don John and the comedic character Verges. Anna Mazin ’14 did well as Conrade. Rachel Rothenberg ’14 was spectacular as Borachioa and a Friar.
Alex Karrafalt ’11 added humor as Seacole and Antonio. In addition, Jadon Baker ’12 made some pretty interesting faces and did a wonderful job as the Sexton.
Of course, the play could not happen without the behind the scenes people, including Ari Zirulnik ’11, the Director, Ashley Stockwell ’12, the Stage Manager and Assistant Directer, Jadon Baker ’12, the Assistant Stage Manager, Julie Melrose ’11, the Costume Designer, James Lance ’12, Light Director, Ben Pfister ’14, Light Board Operator, Kent Sprague ’14, Sound Board Operator, Allie Ham ’14, Run Crew, Chelsey Porter ’14, House Manager, Nina Takacs ’11, Artistic Director and George Myatt ’11, Company Manager.
Overall there were only a few stutters and the actors just kept going as if they were supposed to happen. There were several dramatic scenes and although the group pulled off the comedic scenes a little better, these scenes were done well also.† There were only a couple points during the show where the actors could not keep a serious face.
I thoroughly enjoyed the production and advise that everyone go to their next performance.
The Shakesperiments did a wonderful job with a great choice of a play, making audiences laugh for almost three hours straight.