The Two Gentlemen of Verona
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Castor Rosencrantz Kent
Stage Management by Finley Mcdonald
Production Management by Ben Nickols, Shay Trusty, and Elena Mourad
Intimacy Choreography by Castor Rosencrantz Kent

This oft-neglected Shakespeare comedy reminds us that friendship isn’t just deciding that you like the good parts of someone: it’s knowing they can royally mess up, seeing that, feeling the impact of that, and knowing that it is worthwhile to make amends. It is knowing that you yourself are capable of abominable behavior, facing the fact that you’ve hurt someone you care about, and showing real contrition and desire to not repeat the same mistake.

The highlight of this process was working with the actors playing Valentine, Proteus, Sylvia, and Julia, and figuring out what to do with the final scene. This is supposed to be a happy ending for all four of them, however there were many things Proteus could do to Sylvia that would preclude the ending from being one in which we weren’t deeply concerned for Julia’s safety. The betrayal to Valentine, however, needed to be clear, and the situation urgent enough for him to burst from his hiding spot and cry “Ruffian, let go that rude uncivil touch, / Thou friend of an ill fashion.” Allowing the architecture of our various venues to do some of the work for us, and living in the rules of the world we had created, we landed somewhere I believe kept the heart of the story in tact for our modern audience.

Featuring: Abby Cox, Freddie Doyle, Vanessa Forman, Megan Meinhardt, Jack Miller, Ben Nickols, Molly Nixon, Katie Rotondi, Sarah Stepleman, Paige Weir

Bowen House, Richland Avenue Park, Chauncy Community Park, Federal Valley Resource Center, and Scripps Amphitheatre
Athens County, OH