“MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING”
A Comedy by
William Shakespeare

• Director: Barbara Ridenour
• When: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3
  7:30 p.m. Friday, April 4
  7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5
• Where: North Attic Playhouse
• Tickets: $5 for children, senior citizens; $6 for adults
• Poster design: Anna Cangellaris

Note: Throughout this week the Gargoyle will present a series of diary entries by five members of this year’s spring play, Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” The opening performance will be 7 p.m. Thursday at the North Attic Playhouse, followed by 7:30 p.m. shows Friday and Saturday. For the first four installments of our series (by Michelle Gao, Lauren Piester, Anna Cangellaris, and Anna Gooler, respectively), click here, here, here, and here.

OPENING NIGHT. The term every amateur theater person dreads. It’s not that I was so unprepared, but rather that I just didn’t want all the hassle of not being able to mess up.

Throughout tech week, I’ve been making most of the same mistakes. My first scene with fellow seniors Michelle Gao (Leonata) and Julian Hartman (Claudio) could have as many mistakes as we desired (or not) with little or no negative effects. This time, however, people would be watching. Lots of people. Many of whom I don’t know.

I went through my typical Thursday routine, which primarily consists of going to school, just like every other day of the week. Even though I had gotten my typical amount of sleep for a week night, I was feeling unbelievably drowsy all day, and luckily managed to stay awake all day, mostly through the miracle of caffeine.

I didn’t truly get the idea that it was opening night until about halfway through dinner at Chipotle. Sure, I knew what the day was. It was Thursday. Opening night was a long way off. And by long, I mean a few hours. Until I took the last bite of my delicious burrito, however, the fact that I would soon be performing didn’t actually sink in to any real extent.

Long story short, I got my makeup on and changed into my costume. Not really knowing what to do before a play, I went through my pre-cross country race procedure: Listen to Rammstein and jump around spastically. That accomplished, I settled in backstage behind the curtain and waited for the show to start.

Twenty seconds into the show, everything is running smoothly. Michelle has started off the play with the help of junior Jeremy Kemball (the messenger), and it appears that we have an excellent audience. They laugh at the big jokes (and even the small ones, surprisingly), applaud loudly, and thoroughly make clear that they are enjoying the show. I particularly enjoyed when the crowd jeered at the suggestion by senior Daniel McNamara (Don John) that Jamie Weiser (Hero) was disloyal. How I managed to avoid laughing I will never know, although I am sure that luck is involved.

Even when small mistakes were made (many on my part, unfortunately), the cast managed to cover it up perfectly. Few things in this world are more satisfying than realizing that even though you know the mistake, the audience doesn’t. It’s too bad that I won’t get to do this after Saturday night; the feeling of being onstage is great, and everyone should experience it at some point, if only to see what it’s like.

“Much Ado About Nothing” has given me many new perspectives on theater. I now know just how difficult it is to go through Shakespeare. Also, I now realize how annoying hearing a cast member say “Wamp wamp, what it do” to the point that I start doing it can be.

Now that I think about it, opening night is even greater when I realize that I only have two more chances to perform this play I’ve come to know so well. I can only hope that the audiences will be as excellent as the first one.

Senior Michelle Gao (Leonata, governor of Messina) lets Zielinski have his say. Gargoyle photo by Linda Song

CAST & CREW: “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING”

• Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon: Carl Zielinski
• Don John, his bastard brother: Daniel McNamara
• Claudio, a young lord of Florence: Julian Hartman
• Benedick, a young lord of Padua: Grant Loos
• Leonata, governor of Messina: Michelle Gao
• Antonio, her brother: Rob Diehl
• Balthasar, attendant on Don Pedro: Zack Goldberg
• Conrade, follower of Don John: Dillon Price
• Borachio, follower of Don John: James Smith
• Friar Frances: Tianna Pittenger
• Dogberry, a constable: Deren Kudeki
• Verges, a headborough: Daniel Wilson
• Sexton: Anna Gooler
• Hero, daughter to Leonata: Jamie Weiser
• Beatrice, niece to Leonata: Hannah Lake-Rayburn
• Margaret, gentlewoman attending on Hero: Anna Cangellaris
• Ursula, gentlewoman attending on Hero: Sarah Lake-Rayburn
• Messenger: Jeremy Kemball
• Watch: Hannah Leskosky, Lauren Piester, Brittany Scheid
• Ensemble (watch, attendants, musicians, singers, etc.): Will Erickson, Katherine Floess, Maria Gao, Maia Gersten, Hadley Hauser, Rodney LeNoir, Marie Lilly, Diana Liu, Sierra Marcum, Aramael Pena-Alcantara, Elizabeth Russell, Serena Schatz, Ethan Schiller, Lisa Sproat, Richard Wang
• Musicians: Claire Johnson, Alan Liang (violin); Katherine Floess, Serena Schatz (recorder); Teddy Zamora-Mills (guitar); Zack Goldberg (voice)
• Assistant director: Jen Goheen
• Costumes: Mary Stasheff
• Lighting design: Natsuki Nakamura, James Smith
• Lightboard operator: Natsuki Nakamura
• Set design: Aliisa Rantanen, Lor Sligar
• Stage managers: Lor Sligar, Tianna Pittenger
• Set crew: Entire cast and Stefanie Senior, Lor Sligar, Aliisa Rantanen
• Stage crew: Stefanie Senior, Stephanie Overmier, Karen Han, Lor Sligar
• Choreography: Jonathan Sivier
• Music consultants: Frances Harris, Rick Murphy
• Dance captains: Anna Cangellaris, Zack Goldberg
• Poster design: Anna Cangellaris
• Program design: Lauren Piester