High-energy performance of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ comes to Goshen College stage

Event: Goshen College fall main stage play – “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare
Dates and times: Nov. 4, 5, 11, 12 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 6, 13 at 3 p.m.
Location: Umble Center
Cost: $8 general / $5 students & seniors
For more information: Goshen College Welcome Center, phone (574) 535-7566, e-mail welcomecenter@goshen.edu

GOSHEN, Ind. – Audiences for the upcoming Goshen College Theater Department production of “Much Ado About Nothing” may wonder whether their seats are actually on the stage.

In a quite playful and contemporary adaptation of one of William Shakespeare’s most enjoyable and theatrically successful comedies, “Much Ado About Nothing” is coming to Goshen College’s Umble Center as the fall main stage play, with performances on Nov. 4, 5, 11, 12 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 6, 13 at 3 p.m.

Sparkling with witty dialogue and full of love, betrayal, silliness and all sorts of intrigue, the adaptation of this classic comedy will be anything but traditional. “A lot of people see Shakespeare plays as being very boring and staid, and it won’t be that if we did our job well,” said director Michelle Milne, a 1994 Goshen College graduate and a Goshen native, who returns to direct this play; she also teaches at Columbia College in Chicago.

Though not wanting to reveal all the surprises of this performance, Milne did note that the space in Umble Center will be used quite differently than in past shows – there will be running, a moving set, no “waiting in the wings” and actors performing all around the audience. “It is a very playful script, so we are trying to take a playful approach to it,” Milne said. “It takes a lot of physical stamina to do what we are asking them to do.”

The production also has assistance from another out-of-towner: professional set and costume designer Kimi Maeda, from New York City. Professor of Theater and Communication Doug Liechty Caskey said, “We are very fortunate to have the privilege of working with a young, but accomplished professional designer. Kimi has made two trips to Goshen, and is here helping us finish up the implementation of her designs. She has studied with top Broadway and professional designers and I’m sure she’ll be an artist whose career we’ll all want to follow. This is a golden opportunity to have her on board, providing us with her sensitive and creative expertise. She’s been most kind and encouraging to the faculty and students all along the way.”

The play, written by Shakespeare around 1598, will still center around the story of Don Pedro (played by Andrew Murto) returning victorious from the wars and welcomed by Leonato (Ben Jacobs), the governor of the City of Messina. A young count Claudio falls in love with Leonato’s daughter Hero (Nicole Miazgowicz) and, with the help of Don Pedro, wins her hand. Meanwhile Benedick (Jonny Meyer), who declares himself to be an eternal bachelor, and Hero’s cousin Beatrice (Lindsay Nance), who is equally determined to remain single, are tricked into admitting that they love each other. Amidst much turmoil, deception and accusations, all turns out to be “much ado about nothing.”

Milne returns to Goshen College after spending time in Indianapolis, Portland and Baltimore doing theater work, editing a magazine and receiving a master’s degree in theater from Towson University. Her approach to directing a theater production is quite different than most directors. “I see the actors as part of the larger text of the script and instead of fitting them to the script, I like to take their strengths and build on them for the production,” Milne said. She directs a cast with an energetic and large group of students from the local area.

In the cast: Andrew Murto (Fr., Goshen), Jonny Meyer (Soph., Millersburg, Ind.), Kyle Reinford (Sr., Goshen), Isaac Hooley (Jr., Goshen), Jesse Landis-Eigsti (Soph., Lakewood, Colo.), Tyler Yoder (Fr., Goshen), Cassie Greer (Sr., South Bend), Ben Jacobs (Fr., Goshen), Nicole Miazgowicz (Sr., Temperance, Mich.), Lindsay Nance (Sr., Winnipeg, Manitoba), Mike Honderich (Soph., Goshen), Anna Yoder (Jr., Goshen), Emily Swora (Fr., Shoreview, Minn.), Kimberlee Rohrer (Sr., Orrville, Ohio), Anika Roth (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa), Ben Noll (Fr., Lancaster, Pa.), Adam Schellenberg (Fr., Clovis, Calif.), Josh Gross (Jr., Goodfield, Ill.), Deanne Binde (Fr., Lake Park, Minn.) and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Art Smucker.

In the crew: Assistant Director Eric Meyer (Sr., Millersburg, Ind.), Technical Director Jerry Peters, Stage Manager Grace Eidmann (Fr., Antioch, Ill.), Assistant Stage Manager Grace Magnan (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn.), Dramaturg Hillary Knox (Sr., Gibson City, Ill.), Set and Costume Designer Kimi Maeda, Hair/makeup Designer Adrienne Nesbitt (Jr., Goshen), Lighting Director Jessica Brubaker (Fr., Goshen), Sound Designer Andrew Histand (2005 graduate, Goshen), props – Sara Thögersen (Soph., Goshen), and wardrobe – Lindsay Nance (Sr., Winnipeg, Manitoba).

Umble Center is accessible to wheelchairs and people with other physical limitations.

Tickets cost $8 for general admission and $5 for students and senior citizens over 65 years old. They can be ordered by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or e-mailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

Editors: For more information about this release or to arrange an interview, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu/.