Indiana Festival Theater to perform Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors"

One might say the Indiana Festival Theatre’s summer productions are a mixture of something old, something new and something borrowed.

This weekend’s production is “The Comedy of Errors” by William Shakespeare. The Festival Theatre program itself is brand new this summer, as these kinds of productions had previously been performed in Brown County.

As for the borrowed, the production staff brought in four professional Actors’ Equity Association performers: Adam Noble and Fontaine Syer, both members of IU faculty, Rob Johansen,  an IU alumnus and Henry Woronicz.

The play takes place in the modern day where director Jonathan Michaelsen has made some tweaks that deal with our 21st century technological
dependence.

The plot revolves around two sets of identical twin brothers separated at birth during a shipwreck, one twin from each set winding up with another. Eventually both sets of twins wind up in the same town, and several wild cases of mistaken identities ensue.

The professional presence has helped breed a more professional atmosphere than some productions during the academic school year, said Kelly Lusk, a first-year M.F.A. student in playwriting at IU. Lusk plays one of the servant twin brothers.

“You can go and see them up on stage and that’s obviously a learning experience,” Lusk said. “But it’s much more beneficial to see them during the rehearsal process and how they work.”

Syer echoed Lusk, saying it’s good to “watch the pros forget their lines and call for it or get tongue-tied and have word-burgers,” but also said there is definitely no disconnect between the pros and the students.

“We’re still trying to work things out too — make moments work on stage and build relationships with everyone,” Syer said.

She also pointed out that the cast of “Errors” is the same cast people will see in “Ah, Wilderness,” a work by Eugene O’Neill which will be the next production from the Festival Theatre.

“Everybody is something completely different in the two plays,” she said. “It’s a great example and great experience to see what actors do.”

Woronicz also attested to their abilities.

“It’s a very good group, everyone has worked pretty hard, but there’s always room for improvement,” said Woronicz, who has been in regional theatre for more than 35 years and has performed a great deal of Shakespeare.

He said the play is a great example of Shakespeare’s ability to tell great stories and create characters that are significantly and palpably different from one another. He and Syer were both enthusiastic about these upcoming shows.

“It’s a new venture for IU,” Woronicz said. “I’m hoping it’s very successful.”