UMaine Students to Present Shakespeare’s
Contact: George Manlove at (207) 581-3756
ORONO — William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” has much to do with everything in life that’s important: friends, family, trust and love.
The University of Maine’s School of Performing Arts will produce the romantic comedy in February at Hauck Auditorium.
The plays is considered by some to be “the original sit-com.” University of Maine Assistant Professor of Theatre Marcia Douglas, who directs the play, sees it as a timeless tale revolving around a battle of the sexes, a war of wits and words and the characteristic Shakespearean mischief resulting from confused identities, a faked death and relentless plotting by bad guys.
It is about “the stuff that’s insignificant, which we take too seriously,” Douglas says.
In spite of the poetic Elizabethan dialog, “Much Ado About Nothing” is remarkably easy to follow, Douglas says, as it examines relationships and the trouble that results from rushing to judgment.
“It’s fun. It’s about love,” Douglas says. “Love is always interesting to people. We get tripped up by it. We jump to conclusions when we shouldn’t.”
The actors’ job, she says, involves more than just learning lines. They also must create their characters’ “personal journeys” in order to present a convincing story that the audience will follow and enjoy.
The play is set in Messina, Italy, and revolves around two relationships, that of main characters Claudio, a visiting soldier, and Hero, the daughter of Messina’s governor Leonato, who are about to be married. A companion plot involves the cantankerous but humorous bantering between Benedick, Claudio’s friend, and Beatrice, Hero’s cousin and her best friend.
But Shakespeare would not be Shakespeare without villains, and antagonists Don John and his pals Borachio and Conrad, also soldiers visiting Messina, are up to the challenge. They try to derail Hero and Claudio’s marriage by convincing Claudio that his betrothed Hero is unfaithful.
In the end, the local friar sorts things out and gets the relationships back on track.
“Much Ado About Nothing” should be entertaining for audiences of all ages, Douglas says, because it deals expertly with the fallibility of human nature and themes that are as real today as they were in Shakespeare’s time.
Douglas also has chosen an innovative presentation format, with cast members interacting with the audience before the production begins.
She has recruited some experienced and talented people to bring exceptional lighting and set design to the production, she says.
The set is being designed by Chez Cherry, an award-winning set designer from HBO television’s “Tracey Takes On.” Most recently, he created the set design for “Guys and Dolls” at Maine Center for the Arts and “Escape from Happiness” at Hauck Auditorium. The lighting design is being created by Greg Mitchell of Washington, DC, who designed the set and lights for last season’s production of “Rimers of Eldritch” and for many Penobscot Theatre productions.
Jane Snider, associate professor of theatre and dance, resumes a traditional role designing costumes, which were being sewn specifically for this production by Costume Director Lucia Williams-Young and students.
UMaine student Adam Smith is sound designer and Beth Wiemann, associate professor of music at UMaine, is composing music specifically for the production. Twenty-two people, including English Department professor and Shakespeare scholar Richard Brucher, comprise the cast.
Douglas said the theatre department tries to do a Shakespeare play at least once every four years, so students have a chance to experience Shakespeare in the time they are at UMaine, and the community has the opportunity to see it.
“We serve our students, but we also serve the community,” she says.
“Much Ado About Nothing” runs Feb. 13-14, 19-21 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 15 & 22 at 2 p.m.; Admission is $8, but free for UMaine students with a MaineCard. Information is available by calling the Maine Center for the Arts box office at 581-1755 or 1-800-MCA-TIXX.