{"id":3081,"date":"2021-04-22T14:51:12","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T19:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/?page_id=3081"},"modified":"2023-06-07T08:39:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T13:39:04","slug":"comedy-of-errors","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/comedy-of-errors\/","title":{"rendered":"Comedy of Errors"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cast<\/h2>\n

Duke \u2013 Jack Stetler<\/h4>\n

Egeon \u2013 Elijah Leer<\/h4>\n

Antipholus of Ephesus \u2013 Ch\u2019aska Farber<\/h4>\n

Antipholus of Syracuse \u2013 Bianca Davis<\/h4>\n

Dromio of Ephesus \u2013 Marley Lagares<\/h4>\n

Dromio of Syracuse \u2013 Moses Young<\/h4>\n

Adriana \u2013 Emilie Hapgood<\/h4>\n

Luciana \u2013 Aerin O\u2019Malley<\/h4>\n

Luce \u2013 Claire Correll<\/h4>\n

Courtesan \u2013 Dorienne Hoven<\/h4>\n

Angelo \u2013 Seth Retzlaff<\/h4>\n

Balthasar \u2013 Meredith Enersen<\/h4>\n

First Merchant \u2013 Megan Allbrooks<\/h4>\n

Second Merchant \u2013 Katie Moore<\/h4>\n

Pinch \u2013 Jonah O\u2019Bert<\/h4>\n

Emilia \u2013 Jasmine Carter<\/h4>\n

Jailer\/Officer\/Messenger \u2013 Abigail St. John<\/h4>\n

<\/h5>\n

Production Team<\/h3>\n

Director \u2013 Bill Sonnega<\/h5>\n
Scenic Design\/Shop Supervisor \u2013Todd F. Edwards<\/h5>\n
Sound Design \u2013 Parker Love<\/h5>\n
Costume Design\/Shop Supervisor \u2013 Aimee Jillson<\/h5>\n
Lighting\/Sound Supervisor \u2013 Brian Bjorklund<\/h5>\n
Stage Manager\/Sound Operator \u2013 Grace Peacore<\/h5>\n
Choreographer \u2013 Ayee Mounivong<\/h5>\n
Assistant Stage Manager\/Dance Captain \u2013 Harper Lagares<\/h5>\n
Assistant Director \u2013 Johnna Johnson<\/h5>\n
Dramaturg \u2013Thomas Bryant<\/h5>\n
Production Coordinator \u2013 Jeanne Tangren Hatle<\/h5>\n
Poster Design \u2013 Meredith Enersen<\/h5>\n
Production Sound Mixer \u2013 Claire Strother<\/h5>\n
Backstage Crew \u2013 Gabriel Maxwell<\/h5>\n
Backstage Crew \u2013 Mady Smith<\/h5>\n
Set Up\/Take Down Crew \u2013 Caroline Allessi<\/h5>\n
Set up\/Take Down Crew \u2013 Asa Kienitz-Kincade<\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n
Scene Shop: Bianca Davis, Alex Duminy, Victor Fesenmeyer, Mike Gough, Kate Helin-Burnette, Matthew Humason, Bradford Jensen, Maycee Klein, Collin Kreiger, Tyler Krohn, Alice Langby, Gabriel Maxwell, Mia Schoenbeck, Mady Smith, Sam Stright, Jared Vidervol<\/h5>\n
Lighting: Ariel Bodnar-Klein, Matthew Humason, Moses Young, Parker Love<\/h5>\n
Costume Shop: Grace Bloomquist, Lucy Cavener<\/h5>\n
Publicity: Ariel Bodnar-Klein, Meredith Enersen, Tamsin Olson<\/h5>\n

<\/h4>\n

This production is dedicated with love to Alice Jane Tibbetts ’20<\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
\nAll losses are restor’d, and sorrows end.
\n<\/em><\/h5>\n
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 30<\/em><\/h5>\n

<\/h4>\n

Acknowledgements<\/h4>\n

Ryan Cleasby, Peter Christian Hansen, Sara Pillatski-Warzeha, Bryan Schmidt, St. Olaf Facilities, Karen Peterson Wilson<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>Thank you!
\nTo Steven Fox for his generous support of the Theater Department<\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n

Comedy Of Errors Dramaturg\u2019s Note <\/strong><\/p>\n

By Thomas Bryant<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Aside from spending hours with the Oxford English Dictionary to understand all of Shakespeare\u2019s words, a dramaturg is concerned with the central question of theater makers: Why this play now? Specifically, why tackle Shakespeare outside, working through Covid restrictions that have shut theaters down, as well as fighting Minnesotan weather. One reason is to commemorate 100 years of the St. Olaf Theater Department, which began with a production of Shakespeare\u2019s The Merchant Of Venice<\/em>. That question of why has been with us since that first production.<\/p>\n

Whereas the St. Olaf choir emerged from the deep connection between music and Lutheran heritage in 1912, theater had a harder time finding its footing as many of the school\u2019s Lutheran faculty were against theater. In 1918, Theater began at the college as a series of Dramatic Reading Pageants to benefit the Red Cross, and once the door was open student organizations began to put on their own plays. To accommodate increasing student demand, the faculty began sponsoring theatrical productions, beginning with the English department agreeing to sponsor one play a year. On April 21, 1921, Elizabeth Kelsey, Theater professional and Northfield local, was secured to direct the first production of The Merchant Of Venice<\/em> in honor of Shakespeare\u2019s birthday. The production was staged on an approximation of one of Shakespeare\u2019s stages in the old gymnasium, as there was no theater facility at the time. (In this spirit, our production of The Comedy Of Errors<\/em> has a stage built on the theater building which was originally the woman\u2019s gymnasium so that we could obey Covid Guidelines). The Merchant of Venice <\/em>was a success and was followed by Norwegian language plays from the Norwegian department as well as more Shakespeare from the English department until the chapel burned down, at which point the gymnasium had to be used for religious services.<\/p>\n

In 1924, Elizabeth Kelsey took losing her performance space as an opportunity to begin St. Olaf\u2019s history of outdoor productions of Shakespeare\u2019s plays with a production of A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream <\/em>in Norway Valley. Much like The Comedy Of Errors<\/em>, rehearsals had to be carefully planned around weather, daylight, and class times, resulting in chilly 5 A.M. rehearsals that showed the students\u2019 dedication to the cause. Also, as actors for The Comedy Of Errors <\/em>and last fall\u2019s Mamma Mia <\/em>had to dress in their rooms for Covid safety, Kelsey would have to keep costumes at her house and lug them to rehearsal daily. Outdoor Shakespeare continued until 1941, fading out as St. Olaf drama was limited as school resources became focused on the war effort. The next prominent outdoor Shakespeare production was another production of The Merchant Of Venice, <\/em>directed by Ralph Haugen in 1955. This production used Thorson Hall as a set piece and took place on the back lawn, again looking a lot like our production of The Comedy Of Errors<\/em>. All of Thorson\u2019s bathrooms had to be locked during the performance because of a plot to simultaneously flush all the toilets when one actor (Wendell Miller \u201855) entered.<\/p>\n

Theater has continued at St. Olaf since and Elizabeth Kelsey and Ralph Haugen are memorialized in the Kelsey Theater and Haugen Black Box. Our outdoor performance of The Comedy of Errors<\/em>, however, may be more in their spirit. As Kelsey and Haugen\u2019s students wanted so badly to do theater they did whatever they had to do, so we have constructed an outdoors set, dealt with weather, and adhered strictly to Covid guidelines. The history of Shakespeare and theater at St. Olaf is the history of pulling together and doing whatever it takes to put on a show for the community.<\/p>\n

However, theater has changed and we have the perspective to know that The Merchant Of Venice <\/em>does not represent St. Olaf Theater\u2019s values. Honoring the theater\u2019s history while reckoning with and improving on it is central to The Comedy Of Errors<\/em>. Shakespeare derived the plot from an early Roman comedy by Plautus, The Menaechmi, <\/em>which follows a pair of separated, identical twins who end up in the same city and are mistaken for each other. Scholarship focuses on Shakespeare\u2019s decision to complicate this set up by adding a pair of identical twin servants to The Comedy Of Errors<\/em>, allowing for more ridiculous antics.<\/p>\n

Notably, the character of Peniculus is excluded from Shakespeare\u2019s version. In The Menaechmi<\/em>, Peniculus is the parasitical friend of the character who would become Antipholus of Ephesus. Peniculus acts as the villain, threatening to steal wealth and exploit the confusion. By removing the antagonist, Shakespeare allows many of his characters to be variously heroic and villainous, creating a community where the problem is not exploitive outsiders but the community members failing to communicate or be kind to one another. While The Comedy Of Errors <\/em>is a hilarious good time, I am hopeful that we can also use it as a chance to reflect on how we treat each other as a community and how we harm each other with our assumptions.<\/p>\n

As generations of Oles have done before us, let’s kick back and enjoy the weather, the community, and some Shakespeare. Happy 100 years to St. Olaf Theater and here’s to many more!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Thomas Bryant, Production Dramaturg<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>
\n\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/h5>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cast Duke \u2013 Jack Stetler Egeon \u2013 Elijah Leer Antipholus of Ephesus \u2013 Ch\u2019aska Farber Antipholus of Syracuse \u2013 Bianca Davis Dromio of Ephesus \u2013 Marley Lagares Dromio of Syracuse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3081","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3081"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3698,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3081\/revisions\/3698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/theater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}