In this production of Much Ado About Nothing I chose to examine in detail the drastic effects of long term warfare on those returning from war as well as those left behind to manage the home front. As such, the world that we introduced to the audience was full of chaos, excitement, sounds, movement and heightened emotions. Throughout the production this joyous and extreme world was slowly stripped down to a much more controlled, contained environment. This progression was reflected in the theme of seasons, the production moved from a cold, colourless winter on the front line, to the soft spring of the returning soldiers through to the heightened, maddening summer and finally in the third act the production found a sober middle in the colder harsher light of autumn.
It was a joy, and at times heart-breaking, to both create and destroy the delicate world in which this story took place.
I have such sympathy for the soldier characters in this world, who are expected to suppress their exhaustive experiences in war and return, un-altered, to a home that has undergone changes of its own. Working on Much Ado has taught me that nothing is untouched during war – that nothing remains the same. Soldiers may be asked to face battle for an ideal on the front line and citizens on the home front, only to find that the ideal all were fighting for may no longer exist anyplace but in memory.
In this production of Much Ado About Nothing I asked the audience to come on a roller coaster ride - to enjoy the ups and the downs of love in a land recovering from war, and to hopefully find a middle ground where new life can begin. My aim was to show to audiences the love and gentleness alive in each character - no matter how hidden by trauma that part of them may be.
Much Ado About Nothing was performed in 2015 at the Theatre Garage, Minneapolis, Minnesota, in rep with TITUS.
Produced by Mission Theatre.
DIRECTOR
Penelope Parsons-Lord
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Sarah Nargang
DESIGNERS
Set design Justine Hooper
Lighting design Tony Stoeri
Sound design Joe Gamble
Costume design Penelope Parsons-Lord
CAST
Don John Amy Vickroy
Dogberry/Ensemble Andy Schnabel
Watchman/ Ensemble Anneliese Stuht
Margaret Antonia Perez
Borachio Austine England
Don Pedro Craig Fernholz
Verges/Ensemble Derek Dirlam
Ursula Heather Burmeister
Antonio Lucas Gerstner
Hero Marisa Tejeda
Benedick Matt Ouren
Watchman/Ensemble Michael Terrell Brown
Leonarto Michael Kelly
Claudio Patrick Webster
Beatrice Penelope Parsons-Lord
Conrad Rachel Linder
Balthasar Ricardo Beaird
Friar/Ensemble Will Hoeschle
