{"id":152404,"date":"2023-03-17T15:09:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T19:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=152404"},"modified":"2023-03-20T10:38:33","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T14:38:33","slug":"peek-behind-the-curtain-ep-6-the-curtain-has-risen-on-a-spectacular-much-ado-about-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/17\/peek-behind-the-curtain-ep-6-the-curtain-has-risen-on-a-spectacular-much-ado-about-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"Peek Behind the Curtain (Ep. 6): The curtain has risen on a spectacular Much Ado About Nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After taking peeks behind the Schaeffer Theatre curtain since January<\/a>, exploring the preparations for an ambitious Bates theater production, the curtain has been raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what a sight to behold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From period costumes and a lavish set to comedic clowning and snappy wordplay (some in iambic pentameter!), this production of Much Ado About Nothing<\/em><\/a> <\/em>is a whirl of color, sounds, comedy, and music, recalling nothing less than the dazzling Technicolor splendor of a 1950s MGM musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And why shouldn’t it? Director and Assistant Professor of Theater Tim Dugan decided to move the setting from Italy in the 16th century to a coastal estate on Maine\u2019s Mount Desert Island in the heady days right after World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dress
The set of Much Ado About Nothing features a two-story facade, representing the exterior of a Bar Harbor estate, which offers lots of opportunities for characters in Shakespeare’s comedy to be heard and misheard. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Bar Harbor  \u201ccottage\u201d is represented by a two-story facade complete with a balcony sturdy enough to hold multiple players. A lush backyard garden blooms onstage, complemented by sounds of ocean waves and birdsong, and a live, five-piece student band performing swing-era classics like Glenn Miller\u2019s \u201cIn The Mood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A group of khaki-clad Army officers returning home from the war are quickly invited to spend a month relaxing at an oceanside estate by its wealthy owner, Leonata (not Leonato<\/em> \u2014 more on that later). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dress
Providing music of the World War II era is a five-member band, including Sophia Cattalani \u201925 of Skaneateles, N.Y., on trumpet and Julianne Massa \u201825 of Lloyd Harbor, N.Y., on tenor sax. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an especially alluring invitation: Leonata has a lovely young daughter, Hero, and an alluring spitfire of a niece, Beatrice, living in the house, and they\u2019ve got female friends about as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a plot summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The action involves two couples: Claudio and Hero, and Benedick and Beatrice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Claudio and Hero fall in love, but the villainous Don John threatens their relationship by orchestrating a misunderstanding involving Hero\u2019s virtue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice, who\u2019ve known each other forever, do a lot of sparky bantering, spurring a side plot by their friends to lead each to believe the other is in love with them. Which leads to actual declarations of love.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The play ends with revelations and reconciliations; Claudio and Hero’s relationship is successfully restored.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \"Dress
    The heteropatriarchy arrives, in the form of Don Pedro (Dhruv Chandra \u201925 of Kolkata, India) and his fellow Army officers. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    What bullet points don\u2019t tell us is that beneath these comic misunderstandings is an age-old Shakespearian theme of fragile masculinity: The men\u2019s sense of power depends on women being faithful and chaste; the men need to dominate the conversations, both intentionally and unintentionally, and the women try to be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Over the last two years, especially coming out of the pandemic, productions of Much Ado<\/em> have toyed with the time and place of the play, and also the play\u2019s gender dynamics. In the Bates production, a few characters\u2019 genders have been changed, inviting the audience to see how the emphasis changes with the perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For example, the character of Leonato<\/em>, male governor of Messina in Shakespeare\u2019s original, has become a woman, Leonata<\/em>, a wealthy landowner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Dress
    A change in the Bates production is that the character of Leonato, rather than being an Italian governor becomes Leonata, a wealthy landowner (Sydney Childs \u201924 of Cohasset, Mass.,) seen with Claudio (left, A.J. Matos \u201826 of Springfield, N.J.) and Don Pedro (right, Dhruv Chandra \u201925 of Kolkata, India). (PhyllisGraber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Traditionally, in Act 5, Scene 1, Leonato (as a man) confronts Claudio for telling scandalous lies about his daughter, Hero. Claudio, joined by Don Pedro, treats him like a doddering fool, ignoring his claims. \u201cI will not hear you,\u201d says Don Pedro, which prompts Leonato to grumble, \u201cI will be heard.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But in the Bates production, the response, delivered by the female Leonata, played by Sydney Childs \u201924 of Cohasset, Mass., is full of defiant rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In a panel discussion held a week prior to opening, Childs describes how she delivers the line. \u201cI have to react to [Don Pedro\u2019s line], and I don\u2019t scream back immediately. I take a pause. We sit in silence; he has to realize that he just screamed at me in my<\/em> house.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s one of my favorite scenes,\u201d said Katie Adkinson, an assistant professor of English and the production\u2019s literary consultant and text coach. \u201cHe doesn’t get the last word in that scene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Beatrice\u2019s and Benedick\u2019s love-to-hate-you dynamic weaves in and out of the main conflict, as Beatrice, played by Emily Diaz \u201923 of Corona, N.Y., unafraid to use her voice, finds herself at loggerheads with Benedick, who is maintaining his masculinity, fragile as it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Beatrice (Emily Diaz \u201923) dances with her aunt, the wealthy estate owner Leonata (Sydney Childs \u201924), in a scene from Much Ado About Nothing. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    During the panel discussion, Diaz talked about the challenge of playing Beatrice, \u201cwho feels like such a fire in the beginning but then something dims in her when she gets with Benedick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As they went through their weeks of rehearsals, Diaz came to embrace Beatrice. \u201cShe never shuts off \u2014 and she takes up space,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cAs a woman of color who’s doing Shakespeare,  it feels good to be talking a lot and to be taking up space and to be having fun with that space. She\u2019s saying whatever comes to mind because she feels like she’s entitled to put it out there. And she is. And I love that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One change they made that felt important for Diaz is at the end of the play: After Hero\u2019s name is cleared, Benedick and Beatrice finally publicly admit their feelings for each other, they embrace. But instead of Benedick finally \u201ccatching\u201d Beatrice, Beatrice flips the script: grabbing Benedick and dipping him for a kiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Dress
    Instead of Benedick finally \u201ccatching\u201d Beatrice, she flips the script, dipping him for the big kiss. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIt’s so much fun and it’s empowering,” Diaz said. “Yes, he can say, \u2018Peace, I will stop your mouth with a kiss,\u2019 but who determines how that kiss is going to be executed? There\u2019s so much power in that and it helps us stay on the same playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dazzling dresses and sparkling suits swing across the stage during the masked ball scene, as Emma Seitz \u201925 of Brooklyn, N.Y., croons several tunes, accompanied by the band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Dress
    Swing dancing helps give the production its World War II-era feel. Borachio (Danny Liu \u201924 of Beaver Dam, Wis.) dances with Margaret (Maggie Nespole ’23 of Annapolis, Md.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The most colorful (and loudest) part of the cast by far is the Watch, a group of Maine locals accompanying the local constable Dogberry (David Walker \u201924 of Canton, Mass.) and his second in command Verges (Joaquin Torres \u201825 of Silang, Philippines) as they patrol Bar Harbor, or as the group calls it, \u201cBah Hahbah.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Accompanied by a cacophony of noise at every entrance and exit, the Watch enter the story halfway through, providing instant comic relief in the midst of the tragic part of the play.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    John Wilkins \u201923 of Chevy Chase, Md., Spencer Obiero \u201925 of Nairobi, Kenya, and Brendan Fitzgerald \u201923 of New Rochelle, N.Y., are the fully upright members of the Watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Dress
    Comedic relief arrives: The local constable, Dogberry (right, David Walker \u201924 of Canton, Mass.), joined by his second in command, Verges (seated, Joaquin Torres \u201825 of Silang, Philippines), and members of the Watch, from left: Caroline Cassell ’24 of Woodstock, Vt., Brendan Fitzgerald ’23 of New Rochelle, N.Y, and Spencer Obiero ’25 of Nairobi, Kenya. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    A fourth member, Caroline Cassell \u201824 of Woodstock, Vt., dressed in red buffalo plaid jacket and a matching cap, plays the part of an old Mainer in a scene-stealing, crouching crab walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Besides laughter and delight, a Bates audience might take away ideas about forgiveness, says Adkinson. Throughout Shakespeare, and in Much Ado,<\/em> \u201cyou see women forgive men for these horrible things, and you ask, \u2018Why did you forgive them?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A play like this asks audiences to think about \u201cwhat is required to live under certain social norms. Any relationship, specifically any relationship under a heteropatriarchy, relies on forgiveness. How often are women quietly forgiving men, because it is easier than picking a fight? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Dress
    Beatrice and Benedick (Brady Chilson ’23 of Carlisle, Pa.) spar during the masked ball scene of Much Ado About Nothing. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIn our relationships, we rely on forgiveness. But the tenor of that forgiveness also changes depending on who we are and how we embody ourselves in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also, there\u2019s solidarity in forgiveness. Beatrice helps to convince Benedick to choose solidarity with Leonata in support of wronged Hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cOne of the things the play is teaching us that solidarity is still a choice. Beatrice gets Benedick to choose to place his solidarity with the women. To choose solidarity with the women \u2014 it’s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Bates production of Much Ado About Nothing is a whirl of color, sounds, and music, recalling nothing less than the dazzling Technicolor splendor of a 1950s MGM musical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":152411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,11010],"tags":[12313],"class_list":["post-152404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-arts","tag-peek-behind-the-curtain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152404"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152464,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152404\/revisions\/152464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}