By Khalida Sarwari
For Saratoga High School’s fall play, student actors will be channeling the likes of Benedick, Don Pedro, Beatrice and Hero, the main characters in William Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing. For the first time this year, the show will run for two weekends in October: 19-20 and 25-26.
Presented under the direction of drama and English teacher and artistic director Sarah Thermond, a cast of 32 students from all four grade levels will bring the classic to the stage in the original Shakespearean language, but set in modern times. For example, some of the characters will have cell phones.
“I had the idea of doing it more modernly, because then you can throw in jokes that people can recognize,” Thermond said.
After a troop of soldiers, led by Don Pedro (Nik Aji, junior), a prince, returns from a war, his friend, Leonato (Andrew York, junior), a governor, invites them to his stately house. Soon after they arrive, Claudio (Chris Nasser, junior), one of the heroic soldiers who is part of Don Pedro’s troop, falls in love with Hero (Amelia Troyer, senior), Leonato’s daughter. As the two are planning their wedding, Don Pedro’s half brother, Don John (Jay Sehmbey, junior), gets jealous and decides to make things miserable for the couple. Meanwhile, Claudio and Hero and their friends decide to play a prank to get Leonato’s niece, Beatrice (Annelise Nussbacher, senior) and Benedick (Ehrland Hollingsworth, senior), another man in the troop, to stop bickering and fall in love. They eventually do.
The last time Saratoga High tackled Shakespeare on stage was five or six years ago.
“The last one we did was Romeo and Juliet, so it’s been a while since we’ve done a Shakespearean comedy,” Thermond said.
She said she picked the play because it contains themes–such as matchmaking and pranking–that many students can relate to. Furthermore, she said wanted to give her students practice with language and complex storylines and characters.
Rehearsals began shortly after the auditions took place in late August, said Thermond. Apart from the 32-member cast, about eight students and alumni are helping with the production’s scenic design.
Delivering his lines with emotion has been one of the more challenging–and yet fun and rewarding–aspects of the show for Ehrland.
“I’m trying to stay on top of doing lines and trying to keep myself diligent,” he said.
Ehrland said the role of Benedick appealed to him because of the personality traits he shares with his character.
“He uses his wit to keep other people at bay,” he said. “For me, I could relate to that a lot–the desire to make jokes and distance yourself from people. He likes to have fun, but deep down he really cares.”
Other students, meanwhile, are reveling in Shakespeare’s unique prose. “I just think one of the coolest things about Shakespeare is the language,” said Andrew.
Performances take place at the McAfee Center on Oct. 19, 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and seniors. They can be purchased online, at the door or in the school office at lunchtime. For more information about the show, visitsaratogatheatrearts.org.
