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theater
Yumi Chikamori / KANSAN
Vaughn Schultz, Lawrence senior, plays Verges in "Much Ado About Nothing." The actor participated in a dress rehearsal Monday. The production, which is presented by Kansas Summer Theatre, begins Friday at Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall.
'A skirmish of wit'
The Kansas Summer Theatre mixes love and laughs in its production of the comedy 'Much Ado About Nothing'
By Matt Hydeman
Kansan staff writer
when the lights come up on the Kansas Summer Theatre's production of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," the audience will find themselves transported to
The play, written in 1599, is considered by critics as one of Shakespeare's finest comedies, filled with word play, strong-willed characters and a liberal dose of love.
route of British colonial India in 1895.
The production, directed by Paul Meier, associate professor of the theater and film, is set in the round, following the tradition of previous summer productions.
"Having it in the round makes it an intimate setting," said Meier. "People who are on the front row should be prepared to be involved."
Meier said that having the audience so close to the actors allows the viewers to be swept into the story. "I want the audience to see the whites of their eyes." he said.
The play details the antics and misunderstandings of two sets of lovers who encounter many obstacles on the road to a happy life.
Meier said he chose the play because previous summer productions had done Shakespeare, and he had never done this play before. Meier chose to set the production in 1895 because he believed that
setting would help bring out the story.
"Having it set in India reveals the play and its purposes," he said.
Setting the story in India also brought the characters into sharp relief. Meier said.
"The English are full of head," he said. "They love wit; they're civilized. The Indians are full of heart and can see what the English might not."
Meier said that there is no singular theme that defines the message of the play.
"There are many things," he said. "For example, the play examines, 'How does one become a real human being?' There are many pretenses, and everyone is not who they appear to be. They play a masquerade.
"I suppose the biggest messages might be that one must know the difference between pretense and reality, and one must have love and heart."
The play's language is closer to ordinary speech, unlike most of Shakespeare's work written in verse. This allows more word play and puns throughout the play.
"Wit enhances and confuses language," said Meier. "The English love wit and puns, and when the Indiains try to copy them, they sometimes fail, and from that arises humor."
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Cinnamon Schultz, a 1994 graduate, plays Hero, cousin of the strong-willed Beatrice. Hero is the model of what a proper, young English woman should be at the time, Meier said.
Schultz agreed with Meier saying that playing Hero was a challenge.
"It's really fun when you're playing a character who's onosite you, as Hero is," she said.
Schultz said that while some characters learn from
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their mistakes, not everyone does.
"They come out wiser, not necessarily smarter," she said.
Meier said that the character of Beatrice is a rebel against the social conventions of the time.
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"It makes this battle of the sexes more sparkling," he said. "She's criticizing the decorum of the time. Hero is a model of submissiveness — which was common at the time — and Beatrice will not stand to be like that."
The roles of Benedick and Beatrice, the two strong-willed protagonists whose verbal sparing ultimately makes them fall in love, are played by Lance Gharavi, Merriam graduate student, and Stacey MacFarlane, Lawrence graduate student.
Both Gharavi and MacFarlane agreed that the age-old concept of the battle of the sexes is not a major theme of the play although many might get that impression.
"You have two strong-willed people who enjoy the single life and scorn the opposite sex," Gharav said. "They make fun of each other, but Benedick knows that he has met his match and Beatrice hers."
JULY 13,1994
"They are two independent-minded people who are butting heads," she said. "It's from that mutual respect that they fall in love."
MacFarlane agreed with Gharavi.
"Much Ado About Nothing" opens at 8 p.m. Friday at Crafton-Preyer Theatre and runs Saturday and July 22, 23 and 24. Tickets are $3 for KU students, $6 for the general public. Student tickets may be purchased at the SUA Office in the Kansas Union, and public tickets are available at the Murphy Hall Box Office.
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