Stage fights, Shakespearean language and antiquated apparel will bring the audience into different era for Seton Hall Theatre's upcoming production "The Comedy of Errors."
The show will be performed at the South Orange Performing Arts Center Oct. 24-27.
Director Daniel Yates said he selected "The Comedy of Errors" because it's funny and it offers many opportunities for both male and female thespians.
"It is a great show for college students," Yates said. "I think they enjoy slapstick comedy. It appeals to sophomoric humor." "The Comedy of Errors" focuses on two pairs of identical twins separated in a shipwreck. After 25 years, they end up in the same town being mistaken for one another.
There's plenty of confusion and humor, all culminating in a heartwarming finale.
Junior Christine Byrne plays the role of Luciana, facing the challenge of being a 21st-century woman portraying a submissive wife whose place was in the household.
Challenges and all, Byrne says performing is exhilarating.
"There's a rush of adrenaline that's absolutely addicting," Bates said. "To have the ability to possibly make a fool of yourself or move an audience to tears while masquerading as someone else is even more exciting,"
Yates said of the challenges of this production is the Shakespearean dialogue.
"We're doing our best to make the Shakespearian language accessible," Yates said. "By watching body language, the audience can get a gist of the words being said."
Junior Raphael Glazov has also been a part of the Seton Hall Theatre for three years. Glazov is prepared to transform into Antipholus of Ephesus once he steps on the stage.
"Being under the lights performing has a sense of freedom and peace about it," Glazov said. "It is a world in which I am someone else, whom I have grown to know inside and out."
Yates' ultimate goal is to watch his cast make this production their own, as if no one had directed it. "The director should really be anonymous," Yates said.
Michelle Foti can be reached at michelle.foti@student.shu.edu.
