By William Shakespeare
Directed by Sean Eustis
Performances:
Original Run!!! February 4-5 and 11-12 at the Sellers Theatre, Laurel High School
Encore Performance!!! March 3rd and 4th at the Greenbelt Arts Center
Masks, mayhem, and mistaken identities as twin brothers and their twin servants get lost in a mix-up over who did what with whom and for how much!
Kast
| The Duke | Paul Brinkley |
| Egeon | Paul Boymel |
| 1st Merchant | Erin MacDonald |
| Antipholus of Syracuse | Patrick Mullen |
| Dromio of Syracuse | Brian Moors |
| Dromio of Ephesus | Rob Perkins |
| Adriana | Wendy Nogales |
| Luciana | Sara Elice |
| Antipholus of Ephesus | Josh Engel |
| Angelo | Jaimee Wurzel |
| Balthazar | Don Juran |
| 2nd Merchant | Dan Delaney |
| Doctor Pinch | Paul Brinkley |
| 1st Assistant | Jay Henry |
| 2nd Assistant | Elise Berg |
| Courtesan | Nuala D. Daj |
| Abbess Emelia | Maureen Roult |
| Abbess Emelia (2006 Encore) | Jaki Demarest |
| Balthazar (2006 Encore) | Sean Eustis |
Krewe
| Director | Sean Eustis |
| Assistant Director | Nell Codner |
| Producer | Dave Choat |
| Costumes, Puppets, and Masks | Constantia Rioux |
| Poster and Art Design | Lee Moyer |
| Analog to Digital Script Transmogrification | Alan J. Duda |
| Sound and Foley Consultant | Scott Farquhar |
| Sound and Foley Consultant | Kevin Hollenbeck |
| Set Design and Construction | Betsy R. Delaney Eldridge Brown |
| Set Krewe | Jeff Holmes Lise Mendel |
| Shiny Things | Brenden McDougal |
| Stage Management | Rebecca Stanley |
| Stage Management (2006 Encore) | Lyn Belzer-Tonnessen |
| Costume Assistant (2006 Encore) | Heather C. Jackson |
Media and Commedia
Masks, mayhem, and mistaken identities. The rich traditions of Commedia del Arte, the plot devices of a sitcom, and the irreverence of a celebration as only the Rude Mechanicals can provide all come together in this production.
Based on The Menaechmi by Plautus, The Comedy of Errors draws upon the classic dramatic devices of the Greeks as well as the comedy routines of Shakespeare’s day. In the same spirit as the Commedia del Arte tradition of Renaissance Italy, Shakespeare used haracter stereotypes, stock situations, and contemporary references to make classic humor more accessible to his audience.
As our characters are brought forward in time to the modern stage, we hope historical purists will appreciate our tributes to the Zanni of Commedia. The nose of Capitano the Duke), the brow of Dottore (the Doctor), the green and white trim of Brighella (the Antipholus twins), and of course the diamond pattern of Arlechino (the Dromio twins)
When we first set out with the idea of performing A Comedy of Errors, the first problem to resolve was how to find two sets of twins! This dilemma has been solved in many ways through the centuries, but an obvious solution for us was found in the masks of Commedic del Arte. Commedia is a favorite theatrical style of mine, one which has seen its own renai ssance in recent years and which I’ve longed to bring to the modern stage. Not wanting to simply recreate the art form, the challenge became one of translating the character arche types recognized by the audiences of Renaissance Italy so they could be recognized by a modern audience. We were fortunate enough to be assigned performance dates on either side of Mardi Gras, which takes many of its traditions from Italy and Commedia, as well a: giving us the perfect scenario in which a modern character would wear a carnival mask!
Comedy aficionados will hopefully appreciate the nod to classic slapstick routines as well a some contemporary references for you, our audience, to appreciate throughout our show.
The Rude Mechanicals 