UD’s Theatre Department does Shakespeare
Photo via University of Dayton Theatre, Dance, and Technology Department Website.
Lauren McCarty | Arts & Entertainment Editor
Understanding and delivering the words of William Shakespeare is no simple feat. The University of Dayton Theatre, Dance, and Performance Technology Program took on this challenge, performing Much Ado About Nothing over Halloween weekend.
After eight weeks of fitting rehearsal into the schedules of a cast and crew of busy college students, the dedication to learning the language was on full display.
“I do my best to provide resources and rules for performing Shakespeare, but at the end of the day, none of us has classical training, and it’s up to us to honor the language and see it through,” said director Charlie Cromer.
Cromer, a Cincinnati-based actor, director, and fight choreographer, was contracted by the department to direct the show. He attributes much of the work done to put this show together to junior Shaun Theewis.
“It was wonderful to work with such a professional cast and crew, to bring forth the words from The Bard himself,” said Thewiss, a double major in international studies and theater, dance, and performance technology from Dayton.
Much Ado about Nothing tells the story of two couples in their quests for romance. For three nights, the Roger Glass Center Experimental Theater was transformed into a 16th-century Sicilian vineyard for the performance of the centuries-old play.
Benedick and Beatrice are witty enemies-turned-lovers, tricked into falling in love. Meanwhile, their friends Claudio and Hero have their marriage sabotaged by the villainous Don John. Like any Shakespearean comedy, it cleverly encompasses love, deception, and confusion.
“As we read and discussed the text, it began to flow out of me in a way I have never experienced while doing a show; it was so fun and interesting to be a part of.” Said Henry Reisbeck, a junior theatre major from Gahanna, Ohio, who played Claudio.
The sharp-witted Beatrice, played by Amelia Tortorici, a Junior education major from Lombard, Illinois, perfected the knockabout comedy necessary for the role. Her counterpart, Benedick, played by Matthew Shaffer, a senior mechanical engineering major from Westerville, Ohio, executed the clever wordplay with on-point sarcasm.
The performances were enhanced by the costume and lighting design. Fulfilling her design credit as a Theatre, dance, and performance technology major was costume designer Kate Tucker.
The costumes, a collection of things found in the department and others specifically made for the show, fit the time period most accurately, and the actors fit like a glove.
The Gold and red color palette with dashes of blue coalesced with the sandy Tuscan stairs and floating outlines of a medieval Italian city, tinged by soft blue and orange lighting.
Senior mechanical engineering major Neve Monigan and Senior Caleb Molseed, an English and history major, were responsible for the unique atmospheric lighting. The two are also working together on the Studio Theater club’s upcoming show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will be performed in the Boll Theater Feb. 20-21.
If you missed this show, Studio Theatre will be performing The 39 Steps Nov. 21-22.
“Thank you to everyone who came out, and if you missed it, it was the greatest show ever,” said Comer.