Every other year at Seton Hill University (SHU) theater students have the opportunity to be cast in a performance by Shakespeare. For the first main stage production, students will be performing Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”.
The casting for “The Comedy of Errors” took place at the end of SHU’s 2013 spring semester. Rehearsals began the first week all students returned to SHU, allowing cast members as much time as possible to learn the script.
With preview night set for Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. and opening night the following day at 8 p.m., time is running out for those involved in the show.
Years before the beginning of the story, two sets of identical twins are accidentally separated at birth thanks to a storm at sea. And to add to the general confusion, both sets of twins have the name Antipholus and Dromio.
After the storm settles, one set of Antipholus and Dromio end up in Syracuse, Italy and the other in Ephesus, Turkey. The name of the city they reside in is added to their names to help tell them apart.
The story begins when Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio of Syracuse arrive in Antipholus, the home of their twins. Not long after their arrival, things start to get hectic.
Mistaken identities lead to many comical scenarios such as near-seduction, wrongful beatings, false accusations of infidelity, madness and even demonic possession.
In SHU’s production, two actors will play all four twins. Junior Domenic Jungling plays Antipholus of Syracuse and Ephesus while junior Bill Smolter plays Dromio of Syracuse and Ephesus.
“The twins from Syracuse are more refined than their Ephesus twins. The twins from Syracuse have been searching for their twins for seven years and their personalities really come out in their speech,” writes Sue O’Neill, costume designer for the show.
Each pair have similar costumes of different colors. The Syracuse twins wear more formal pieces while the Ephesus twins have a more casual appearance. Both Antipholus’ wear shades of yellow and green while both Dromio’s wear shades of red and orange.
The friends and family of the four twins, along with some of the townsfolk round out the rest of the cast.
Tickets are $5 for SHU students, $13 for non-SHU students and $16 for non-SHU adults. Preview night is free for everyone to attend.