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presents

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Directed by Laura Rose

College of Charleston Sottile Theatre February 17 & 18, 2012 7:30pm

Funded in part by a generous grant from the Kevin J and Pamela J Kelly Foundation

Director Laura Rose Technical Director Aly Howard Music Direction and Design Sarah Coe, Becca Anderson Music Design and Adaptation Roger Bellow Stage Manager & Props Haleigh Barber Choreography Aly Howard Costume Design Caroline Boegel Costume Assistance Augusta Gehrhardt Graphic Design Lee Huber, Cinch Design Musicians Roger Bellow (fiddle/mandolin), Pete

Rock (Bass), Pete Ledbetter (guitar). Deck Crew Robbie Thomas (Chief) Thomas Stutts,

Joshua Beam, William Barickman, Tom Lucas, Larry Perewiznyk, Doug McGill

The Story The soldiers, led by US Army Colonel Don Pedro, return home on leave from service in WWII. They are welcomed to Messina, SC, by old friend Leonato and invited to stay a month for celebration and respite. Among Don Pedro’s entourage are his illegitimate brother, opportunist and malcontent Don John; the ladies’ man Captain Benedick; and the young First Lieutenant Claudio. Claudio falls in love with Leonato’s daughter Hero, while Benedick declares himself an eternal bachelor. Leonato’s niece Beatrice swears that she, too, “could not endure a husband!” What will happen when the small-town rumor mill—fueled by intentions both good and ill—comes to life? Will it bring family and friends together, or could it tear them apart?...

The Household Leonato………………………………………………...Mark Gorman Antonia....................................................................Tara Denton Hero……………………………………..……..………..Emily Mckay Beatrice…………………………………..…………......Emily Wilhoit Margaret………………………...…………………….Maggie Borden Ursula…………………..………………………..……Christina Leidel Balthasay…………………………..……………….…...…..Sarah Coe Girl………………………..……………..………….……..Emma Stark

The Soldiers Don Pedro………………………...…..………....…...Mark Poremba Claudio……………………….....………………Michael Smallwood Benedick…………..…………...……….…………………Craig Trow Don John…………………….………………….……..Brendan Kelly Borachio……………...……………...………….……Robbie Thomas Conrade………………………………...…….………..…..Tom Lucas WAC Messenger……………...………….............…Victoria Vaughn

The Town Dogberry……………..……………………….………….Fred Hutter Verges……………………………………..……….…....Randy Risher 1st Watch………………………..………………..…Larry Perewiznyk 2nd Watch……………..………………………….…...…Doug McGill 3rd Watch & Singer……………..……….…………...Becca Anderson Pastor Francine & Singer………………..….........….Joyel Crawford Sexton & Musician.......…………..………...………….Roger Bellow

Act 1 Scene 1 FRONT OF LEONATO’S HOUSE Scene 2 Same (continuous) Scene 3 Same (cont.) Act 2 Scene 1 LEONATO’S GARDEN Scene 2 Same (cont.) Scene 3 Same (next morning) Act 3 Scene 1 Same (later that day) Scene 2 BENEDICK’S ROOM Scene 3 FRONT OF LEONATO’S HOUSE Intermission Act 3 Scene 4 HERO’S ROOM Scene 5 LEONATO’S GARDEN Act 4 Scene 1 Same (cont.) Scene 2 JAIL Act 5 Scene 1 FRONT OF LEONATO’S HOUSE Scene 2 STUDY IN LEONATO’S HOUSE Scene 3 TOMB Scene 4 LEONATO’S GARDEN

HCS DIRECTORS

Ms. Rose has performed Shakespeare and Jacobean roles in the UK, Washington, DC, and Charleston. She has performed modern roles for theatres in Baltimore, Virginia, and North Carolina, and at local companies PURE Theatre, Footlight Players, and South of Broadway Theatre. She has appeared in several films (including a starring role in Timeless, which screened at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival), guest starred in a History Channel television documentary, and played the lead in a television series pilot considered by the SyFy network. She has taught Theatre at the College of Charleston, Trident Technical College, and St. Andrews College.

Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) where coursework included workshops with acclaimed acting coaches at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Professor Stanley Wells, Co-Editor of the Oxford Complete Works of Shakespeare (1986; 2005) and then Director of the Institute, advised her thesis. She is currently completing her doctorate at the Institute under the guidance of Prof. Michael Dobson, author of Shakespeare and Amateur Performance: A Cultural History (Cambridge University Press, 2011)

Ms. Rose has participated in Shakespeare performance workshops led by John Barton (co-founder of the RSC), Cicely Berry (RSC Voice Director since 1969), Andrew Wade (former RSC Head of Voice), Christopher Marino (Shakespeare Theatre Company, DC), and Sue Lefton (RSC Head of Movement). She has studied Shakespeare Performance History and Criticism with Russell Jackson (textual advisor on Kenneth Branagh’s film, stage, and radio productions) and Robert Smallwood (former Deputy Director and Head of Education at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust). She also attended a summer program (Shakespeare Text and Performance) in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, led by UNC-Charlotte and the Catholic University of America.

Laura Rose (Founder and Artistic Director) is an experienced actor, director, and educator who began her formal Shakespeare training in 1989. She earned her MA in Shakespeare Studies at the Shakespeare Institute

Mark J Poremba (Managing Director, Don Pedro) has been an actor for more than 15 years, performing in several cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Charleston. He has extensive off-stage experience, as well, in casting; direction; production, set, lighting, and sound design; set construction; budgeting, promotion, and sales

Mr. Poremba was Road Manager for the Chicago-based Excalibur Shakespeare Company and House Manager for the Highland Theatrical Company’s “Little Chicago Theatre” in Johnson City, TN.

JC Conway earned his BFA in Media and Theatre Arts from Montana State and worked for professional NC theatres before founding the Charleston Underground Theatre. With 20 years experience choreographing stage and film fights, he is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors and an Instruttore for the Historical

European Martial Arts group the Schola Saint George. Recently, he directed Taming of the Shrew (SOBT), with HCS Artistic Director Laura Rose in a breeches role as Petruchio.

Christopher Marino (Performance Coach) trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, the Shakespeare Theatre’s Academy for Classical Acting, and Bard College, As a director; productions in New York City,

Baltimore, Washington DC, and London England. As an actor spent several years teaching Master Acting classes and performing in productions with the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC. He has also performed with the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Kansas City Shakespeare Festival, and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival among others. He is a founding member of the award winning Taffety Punk Theatre Company in Washington DC, and the former Artistic Director of the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival. He continues to teach classical text and Shakespeare performance privately and at colleges and conservatories both in the United States and abroad.

GUEST ARTISTS

Julian Rozzell, Jr. (Education Program Consultant, Performance Coach) has appeared in numerous television programs and commercials. He was featured in the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards commercial and appears regularly in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, produced by Martin Scorcese. Julian is a graduate

of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, the Rybinsk Theatre in St. Petersburg, and attended Radford University in Virginia. Julian also teaches regularly with The Manhattan New Music Project. He has been a teaching artist through City Lights Youth Theatre and Possible Arts and has developed and conducted residencies in schools all over New York City, including the Bronx School for Writers and Artists, Bronx Latin School, PS 125, PS 140, PS 107x, PS 182, and CS 61. He has designed and led workshops for Odyssey House and the Flatbush YMCA. Julian also taught performance workshops at the Horizons Academy at Rikers Island, where he led a drama residency for three years. As an actor, Julian has performed in New York at the Public Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Theatre for the New City, Dixon Place, Soho Rep, and Brooklyn Arts Exchange, among others. Regional credits include: The Piano Lesson (Arden Theatre), No Exit (Imago Theatre), Titus Andronicus (Milwaukee Shakespeare), and Othello (Texas Globe).

Marcus Kyd (Performance Coach) holds an MFA from the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University, DC. An experienced actor and director, he has performed in an extensive number of Classical and Contemporary plays at regional theatres around the country. Marcus cofounded

The Helen Hayes award-winning Taffety Punk Theatre Company in DC, producing innovative classical and contemporary works and providing affordable theatre. Their Bootleg project (plays rehearsed and performed in a single day) regularly appear on stage at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, as do their Riot Grrrl Shakespeare productions, featuring all-women casts. His Shakespeare performance credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream and 1 Henry IV (Folger Shakespeare Theatre, DC); The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI pts 1-3 & Richard III (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), The Winter's Tale (Center Stage, DC), and multiple seasons at the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, as the Danish Prince in Hamlet, Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Edumund in King Lear, Cassio in Othello, and the young Pericles and Lysimachus in a 7-actor Pericles.

Becca Anderson (Singer; 3rd Watch; Music Co-Director) holds an M.A. in Media & Performing Arts from SCAD and a B.A. in French & Theatre from CofC. She completed the Music Theatre Intensive at

NYU, the Drama program at the SC Governor’s School for the Arts, and was a finalist in the English Speaking Union’s Shakespeare Competition. She has worked locally with the Shakespeare Project, Village Playhouse Repertory Company, Midtown/Sheri-Grace Productions, Centre Stage, and Footlight Players. Selected production credits include Macbeth, Awake and Sing!, BatBoy: The Musical, A… My Name is Alice, Vinegar Tom, Independence, and Working.

Maggie Borden (Margaret) holds a BA in Theatre from Wofford College and graduated from the Stella Adler Summer Conservatory. She has studied acting in New York City and London and has attended workshops with the American Shakespeare Center. Past rolls

include Libby in I Oughta Be In Pictures, Sonnerie in Red Noses, Lydia in Big Love, and Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing.

Sarah Coe (Balthasay; Music Co-Director) earned a BFA in Theater from the University at Buffalo, including a year of study at Middlesex University in London, where she also studied under Jane Lapotaire

at The Globe Theatre. Over the last 14 years, she has performed in Buffalo, London, Chicago and Charleston. Recent roles include Mae West in Dirty Blonde (SOBT), The Madam/ Demon in Poe:The Conqueror Worm (Theatre/verv), and Helen in Fat Pig (Footlight).

Tara Denton (Antonia) has performed in Richard III, Titus Andronicus, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar (CofC Summer Shakespeare Project). Other Charleston credits include Proof (Midtown Productions); Up, Lowcountry Boil, Killer Joe and PURE LAB (PURE Theatre). Tara is also an Associate Artist with the Poor Players (San Diego/Chicago), a theatre company dedicated to

producing Shakespeare works (Artistic Director, Richard Baird). San Diego credits include Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV Part 1, Twelfth Night, and Coriolanus.

THE ENSEMBLE (permanent company members)

Mark Gorman (Leonato; Actors’ Equity Association) Mark Gorman (AEA) spent 18 years on and around the stages of NYC. Mark began his acting career as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and has since performed Orlando (As

You Like It), Lysander (A Midsummer Nights Dream) and Benvolio and Lord Capulet in a National tour of Romeo and Juliet. Other classical roles include Damis (Moliere’s Tartuffe), Haemon (Antigone), Andrei (Chekov’s Three Sisters), and Dubois (Moliere’s The Misanthrope). He has participated in a number of Shakespeare and classical theater workshops in New York and at the National Theater institute at the Eugene O’Neil Theater Center in Waterford, CT.

Aly Howard (Technical Director) earned a BA in Theatre Arts from Furman University, where she distinguished herself as master carpenter and master electrician for 3 years, as well as becoming the lead student designer. Her scene, lighting, and costume design credits there include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Bald Soprano, and

Copenhagen. Also during her college years, Aly worked summer productions for Idaho Repertory Theatre and Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre. Further credits include carpenter and electrician at The Warehouse Theatre, Center Stage, South Carolina, and the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. Here in Charleston, Aly has worked as the Assistant Technical Director for the Footlight Players and as a technician for the Village Repertory Company. Kristen Kos (Actors’ Equity Association) is a

professional actor from New York, who holds a BFA in Acting with Honors. Her Shakespeare credits include Puck in A Midsummer night’s Dream (Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Co.) and Lady Percy in Henry IV part 2 (Shakespeare in Delaware Park). For 2 years, she worked as a resident teaching artist for five Western NY High Schools, introducing

students to the performance training techniques of Cecily Berry (former Head of Voice at the Royal Shakespeare Company). There, Kristen

also adapted, directed, and performed Shakespeare, and encouraged collaboration with students. Other theatre credits include: adapting Euripedes Women of Troy for lightsedge theatre co.

and originating roles in 3 world premieres (Season to Season [SOBTC], Tamara L., and Penumbra [ICTC]). Her extensive on-camera credits include commercials for Charleston’s SC Aquarium.

Craig Trow (Benedick) trained at the

prestigious Bristol Old Vic theatre school (UK) and has performed all over the UK in a variety of plays from contemporary to classical. Past Shakespeare roles include Timon (Timon of Athens, The Rose theatre, London), and Macbeth (Bristol Old Vic).

Craig has also performed in plays by Harold Pinter, David Mamet, Anton Chekhov, and Sarah Kane. He is an award-winning comedy writer, currently producing several scripts for British television.

Robbie Thomas (Borachio) earned a BA in Theatre from the College of Charleston and has acted and directed regularly on Charleston stages ever since. He has appeared in the last 9 summer Shakespeare Project productions (CofC) in roles that include Edmund (King Lear), Antipholus of Syracuse (The Comedy of Errors), the Duke of Buckingham (Richard III), and Master Ford (The Merry Wives of

Brendan Larkin Kelly (Don John) earned his B.F.A. from The Theatre School of DePaul University (formally The Goodman School of Theatre), where his third year of training centered entirely on Shakespeare performance. New to the Charleston area, he has acted professionally in Chicago (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, the Athenaeum Theatre) and New York. In Charleston, Brendan has performed children’s theatre for Sprouts at Creative Spark.

Michael Smallwood (Claudio) is a graduate of the College of Charleston with a degree in Theater. He is a two-time KCACTF award-winning playwright, a core member of PURE Theater, and a former playwriting apprentice with Horizon Theater Company

In Atlanta, GA. Michael’s Shakespearean experiences include King Lear, Titus Andronicus, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo & Juliet.

Windsor).

ADDITIONAL CAST, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Fred Hutter (Dogberry) has been involved in theater for 31 years. Among his many credits, he co-founded the Charleston Guerrilla Theater, which produced outdoor Shakespeare plays at James Island County Park (1996-2002) and which toured productions of Shakespeare scenes and short adaptations (for example, The Fifteen

Minute Hamlet) to Lowcountry schools and parks. Fred has also appeared as Albany in King Lear (Actors Theater of SC).

Joyel Crawford (Pastor Francine, Singer) earned an M.B.A in Management from Fairleigh

Dickinson University, NJ. Her theatre credits include Moleta (Extreme Unction-2007 NJ Perry Award Best Original Play Nominee), Nehebka (Aida), Sr. M. Hubert (Nunsense), Crystal (Little Shop of

Horrors…), Truvy (Steel Magnolias), and Treeligion (Deuce Theatre, 2010 Piccolo Spoleto Festival).

Roger Bellow (Sexton, Musician) is the recipient of a SC Heritage Award and has been performing music for many years. He was reviewed by CharlestonMag.com as perhaps the area’s “most authentic southern country musician.”

Christina Leidel (Ursula) teaches physics at the Citadel and is finalizing her doctorate in biophysics form the University of Texas. Before moving to Charleston from Austin, TX, she appeared as Lady Macbeth(Macbeth), Jo Briggs (Independence), Desdemona (Othello), Captain Bree (The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree), and Sienna/The Great Green Monkey (Sarah Silver Hands), for which she was nominated

for an Austin Theater Examiner award. She also understudied the role of Monica (The Medium) and sang in numerous operas and scene concerts with Spotlight on Opera and the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin. In addition to theater, Christina has been involved in short and feature films and web series.

Randy Risher (Verges) has been fortunate enough to play on the Charleston stages of Village Playhouse and Repertory Company, PURE Theatre, Footlight Players, Midtown / Sheri Grace Productions, Charleston Stage, and Flowertown Players. Shakespeare credits include…well, Verges in Much Ado about Nothing. He has also worked in film, playing

various roles in the Eden Graham Stancil web series, Dank Shadows. Some local credits include Cosme in Souvenir, Mitchell in The Little Dog Laughed, Phillip in Low Country Boil, Malcolm in The Full Monty, Jack/Jesus in Reefer Madness, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Tateh in Ragtime, and Selznick in Moonlight and Magnolias.

Tom Lucas (Conrad) has appeared on local stages for PURE Theatre (Superior Donuts), the Actors Theatre of SC (Breaker Morant), and the South of Broadway Theatre. He has taught high school Shakespeare for 15 years. Emily McKay (Hero) graduated from the College of Charleston with degrees in Theater and Anthropology. Recently, she has appeared in Shakespeare's R & J (Piccolo Spoleto) and Pride and Prejudice (CofC). Doug McGill (2nd Watch)

Larry Perewiznyk (1st Watch)

Victoria Vaugn (WAC Messenger) graduated from Wofford College with a B. A. in Theatre and English, and she studied for a semester at the London IES academy on the theatre studies track. Her experience includes workshops with touring members of the American Shakespeare Center. Victoria's most recent stage rolls include Blind le Gru in Red Noses, Amalia in Freakshow, Caldwell B. Cladwell in Urinetown and Alcyone, etc. in Metamorphoses.

Emma Stark (Girl) has appeared as The Widow in Taming of the Shrew (Theatre/VERV), the title role in Alice in Wonderland (Sullivan’s Island ES), and as a Chorus member in Annie (SIES). She has studied Acting and Musical Theatre locally at Charleston Stage; Theatre 99; Once Upon a Ballet)

and in the DC area (at Round House Theatre; Imagination Stage). She is in 6th grade at Laing Middle School.

Emily Wilhoit (Beatrice) received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Catawba College. She has performed in regional theatres from upstate NY to Chicago. Emily has been seen on the stages of a number of local theatres including The Village Playhouse, PURE Theatre, Charleston Stage, and The Footlight Players. Favorite local roles include Anita in West Side Story, Louise in Gypsy, Cathy

in The Last Five Years, Mother in Ragtime, and Lady Chiltern in An Ideal Husband, opposite her real life ideal husband, Josh. Emily currently works as Executive Director of Theatre Charleston, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting live theatre in the Lowcountry. www.theatrecharleston.com

JOIN THE PLAYERS' ROUND! Individuals and Organizations can help make HCS performance and education programs possible—while enjoying exclusive member benefits! To join or find out more, visit our website or email us at contact@holycityshakespeare.org or call (843)754-7267.

**INDIVIDUAL** $50-$99: THE DRAMATURG Special Reserved Seating, 10% discount on purchase of 2 or more tickets [in addition to current offers], 10% Discount on HCS merchandise $100-$249: THE CAST Above benefits, plus: Acknowledgement in Playbill, 1 ticket to an HCS production, invitation to cast talks, wine and cheese receptions, and special events $250-$499: THE LEAD ROLE Above benefits, plus: 2 tickets to an HCS production, Visit to a working rehearsal (see the process in action!), 2 invitations to the Annual Players' round soiree $500-1500: THE PLAYWRIGHT Above benefits, plus 4 tickets to an HCS production, Complimentary refreshment at productions, Invitation to classes and professional workshops, Reception with the HCS Ensemble, Invitation to the first read-through rehearsal of a play

**ORGANIZATION** $250-$749: THE SWAN 1/4-page ad in season programs, Recognition in season programs as an HCS supporter, 2 tickets to an HCS production, Complimentary refreshment at productions, Buy one, get one free tickets to each HCS season production $750-$499: THE ROSE Above benefits, plus: Company link on the HCS website, 1/2-page ad in season programs, 4 tickets to an HCS production, Select complimentary HCS merchandise, Invitation for a group backstage tour $1500-$2499: THE BLACKFRIARS Above benefits, plus: Full-page ad in season programs, Product display in Lobby, 6 tickets to an HCS production, Framed Ensemble-signed production image $2499-$5000: THE GLOBE Above benefits, plus: 10 tickets to an HCS production, 10 invitations to a special closing-night reception, Select complimentary HCS merchandise for 10 people, 4 invitations to a working rehearsal

**UNDERWRITERS** $5000-$9999: THE PATRON $10,000-$25,000: THE ROYAL

**All donations are tax deductable**

THANK YOU! to these local theatres, businesses, and individuals for their generous support of this production.

Please support them, as well!

SIX MILE ANTIQUE MALL

Dan & Harriet Blackburn 2171-A Hwy17 N.

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Joggling board courtesy of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Funcik, MD Select set pieces courtesy of Thomas and Judy Widlowski,

Myrna Rose, and Richard Heffner Additional set construction and props thanks to Thomas Stutts

and The Barber Family Period costumes provided by www.TheatricsUnlimited.com Wedding chairs provided by www.alloccasionsparty.com Set transport provided by Carolina Rental Center (843)881-5009 Thanks also to: Bob Ivey Ballet studio, students and faculty of TTC, Dept of Speech, Foreign Language, and Theatre; Jessica Wells;

Jennifer Dickson

Hero’s Tomb was designed and constructed by Ben Smiley, a student at the American College of the Building Arts. It is a ½”-scale model of the white mausoleum in Magnolia Cemetery, Meeting St., Charleston.

HCS welcomes audience members from the following Charleston Community Based Organizations: Dialysis Clinic Incorporated, Charleston Area Senior Center, and Ansonborough House.

The HCS Players’ Round Members

The Playwright The Dramaturg Russell and Myrna Rose Tripp Hays