by William Shakespeare
directed by Reid Edelman
March 26-April 3, 2010:
Friday March 26, 8 PM
Saturday March 27, 8 PM
Sunday March 28, 2 PM
Thursday April 1, 7:30 PM
Friday April 2, 8 PM
Saturday April 3, 2 PM
Mendocino College Center Theatre
1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah
Call 468-3172 for tickets and information.
 Click here to order tickets through the Arts Council of Mendocino County online box office. |
Two identical twins and their two servants (also identical twins) are separated in a ship-wreck. When, years later, they all show up in the same town, mistaken identities abound. This rollicking comedic romp is one of Shakespeare's most delightful and accessible plays. Appropriate for ages 8 and up.
Not recommended for those who dislike hearty laughter.
TICKETS: $15,
$12 students and seniors. Advance tickets are available at the Mendocino
College Bookstore, the Mendocino Book Company in Ukiah, and online at www.ArtsMendocino.org.
For additional information, call (707) 468-3172
MENDOCINO COLLEGE PRESENTS CIRCUS STYLE
COMEDY OF ERRORS
Stilt-walkers, clowns, jugglers and
aerialists are encamped in the Mendocino College Center Theatre. But
forsooth,
these clowns are speaking in poetry! The
circus has indeed come to town in the form of director Reid Edelman’s zany
version of Shakespeare’s play The Comedy
of Errors, running at Mendocino College for two weekends only March
26-April 3.
Based on an ancient Roman comedy by Plautus,
Shakespeare’s madcap farce involves two sets of identical twins separated
during a ship-wreck as babies. One pair,
both conveniently named Antipholus are provided with two servants, both
confusingly named Dromio! Following the
ship-wreck, one Dromio and one Antipholus find their way to the town of Ephesus
where they settle. When, years later, the other Antipholus and his Dromio leave
their home of Syracuse to go in search of their long lost brothers, a sequence
of mistaken identities ensues that promises to leave audiences howling in
laughter and rolling in the aisles.
In Edelman’s production, Syracuse and Ephesus are both
circus towns. The Dromios are clowns and
the Antipholuses are lion tamers. The
plot is further complicated by a long running feud between Syracuse and Ephesus
and a harsh law requiring that any citizens of Syracuse arrested in Ephesus
shall meet their death. At the start of
the play, the father of the Antipholus twins, Egeon (played by Geoff Graham),
arrives in Ephesus seeking his lost children and is sentenced to die by the Duke
(played by Maria A. Monti). Meanwhile,
the Dromio twins (played by Jake Stoepler and Will Schlosser) and the Antopholus twins (played by Aaron
Schimmel and David Strock) are mistaken for their counterparts and wreak havoc
in Ephesus, engaging in comic high jinks involving Adriana (the wife of
Antipholus of Ephesus, played by Brittani Ray), her sister Luciana (played by
Kristy Tucker), a courtesan (played by Joni McLeod), a goldsmith (played by
Maxx Jennings), an abbess (played by Jolie Lamour) and several merchants
(played by Aaron Rosen, Jimmy Layne and Ryan Eldredge).
The resulting commedia del arte inspired physical comedy
includes a puppet sequence, magic tricks, jugglers, aerialists and other circus
performers. The production is a collaboration with the Mendocino Center for
Circus Arts (Circus MeCCA), and features the talents of Circus MeCCA guest
artists Amanda Grace, Holly Newstead, Kameko and their students. The
talented ensemble also includes Marji Artlip, Toni Ashford, Crispin Cain, Maria
Frei, Will Knox, Gemiah Kurzfeld, Alyra Slocum, Joseph Sorensen, and Sage
Sorensen.
The
Comedy of Errors will feature dazzling circus costumes designed by resident designer and
college instructor Kathy Dingman-Katz, puppets designed by student Maxx
Kurzunski, elaborate make-up designed by Amanda Katz and James Milligan, a
sound design by David Wolf, and scenery and lighting by Larry L. Lang. The production is being stage managed by student
Tyler P. Gardner.
The Comedy
of Errors opens on Friday March 26,
2010. Performances will run for two weekends only, through April 3. Performances are
Friday March 26 at 8 PM, Saturday March 27 at 8 PM, Sunday March 28 at 2 PM,
Thursday April 1 at 7:30 PM, Friday April 2 at 8 PM and Saturday April 3 at 2
PM. Tickets ($15 general; $12
students and seniors) are available at the Mendocino Book Company, at the
Mendocino College Bookstore, and online at www.ArtsMendocino.org. Some performances are expected to sell out,
so audiences are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance. Subject to availability, tickets may also be
purchased at the door.
The Comedy
of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s
most accessible comedies and is appropriate for family audiences, though the
show is not recommended for children under the age of six. For more detailed information about the
production, please visit the college’s Theatre Department web site at
www.mendocino.edu/theater/deptindex.html.
For additional information, call (707)
468-3172.
