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The Acting Company Showcasing Shakespeare’s Comedic Side in ‘Comedy of Errors’ at Hatfield Hall
February 16, 2012
Along with his tragic tales, William Shakespeare had a hidden
comedic side, which talented young actors and actresses from The
Acting Company will showcase in its' production of "Comedy of
Errors" on Saturday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology's Hatfield Hall Theater.
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Jason McDowell-Green and STephen Pilkington in The Acting
Company/
Guthrie Theater production of The Comedy of Errors. Photo by
Michal Daniel. |
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THEATER PRODUCTION
"Comedy of Errors"
The Acting Company
Sunday, February
18 - 7:30 p.m.
Hatfield Hall Theater
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
5500 Wabash Ave., Terre Haute, IN
Tickets: $$13 to $17 for adults
reserved; $10 for college and high school
students.
For tickets: Call 812-877-8544 or visit the Hatfield Hall
ticket office
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays or noon to 5 p.m. on
Satudays.
For more information contact www.hatfieldhall.com.
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Reserved tickets range from $13 to $17 for adults and are $10
for college and high school students. Purchase tickets by
calling the Hatfield Hall ticket office at 812-877-8544 or visiting
the office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays or noon to 5 p.m. on
Saturday.
"The Comedy of Errors," one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, is
also his shortest and one of his most farcical -- a major part of
the humor derived from slapstick, puns and wordplay.
The story of two sets of identical twins accidentally separated at
birth involves a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken
identities leading to wrongful attacks, a near-seduction, an arrest
and accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic
possession.
"This play best characterizes Shakespeare's fascination with
mistaken identity. He often employs disguises and gender
flip-flops as one of many devices to craft his stories but in 'The
Comedy of Errors' this technique is the spine of the play, the
center where the characters, setting, and story originate," states
director Ian Belknap of The Acting Company.
Shakespeare sets all of the action in "Comedy of Errors" within
one day and features a recurring theme across his work: blending
tragic situations with comedic resolutions and introducing
slapstick to wide appeal.
"Underneath every moment of hilarity in this play is a person
yearning for something or someone. In every instance where a
character aches, Shakespeare concocts a game or comedic gag that
eases the pain. He blends tragic situations with comedic
resolutions," added Belknap, associate artistic director of The
Acting Company since 2009. "Charlie Chaplin said of
Shakespeare, '[His] Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease
for pain.'"
The Acting Company was founded in 1972 by the legendary John
Houseman and Margot Harley. It has become one of the
most respected and praised touring repertory theater companies in
America, performing 135 productions touring to 48 states and 10
foreign countries. It received a Tony Award Honor for
Excellence in Theater for developing the best young American actors
by giving them an opportunity to practice their craft in a
repertory of classic plays and new works. Founding company
members included award-winning actor Kevin Kline (1972-77), an
Indiana University and Juillard graduate, and Dakin Matthews
(1972-73), whose television credits include appearances on "The
West Wing", "Gilmore Girls", "The Practice", and "Star Trek:
Voyager."
Current company cast members are Ernest Bentley, Caleb Carlson
and Whitney Hudson, graduates of the University of Minnesota;
Kaliswa Brewster, from Seattle; Ray Chapman, from Butte Creek,
Mont.; Bjorn DuPaty, from Bradley University and Chicago; Zachary
Fine, another Chicago native; Joseph Midyett, from Hayward, Calif.;
Kevin Orton, a Julliard trained actor from St. Louis; Noah
Putterman, a former U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts from
Raleigh, N.C.; Sid Solomon, from Brooklyn, N.Y.; William
Sturdivant, from North Carolina; and Kathleen Wise, a Cincinnati
native who studied acting at New York University.
Find out more about The Acting Company at www.theactingcompany.org.
Details about upcoming Rose-Hulman Performing Arts Series shows can
be found at www.hatfieldhall.com.