Chicago Shakespeare Theater - Short Shakespeare!·The Comedy of Errors·2010

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Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks: The Comedy of Errors

2013/14 Season

Recently On Our Stages

Production History

by William Shakespeare
directed and adapted by David H. Bell

in Chicago Shakespeare’s Courtyard Theater
January 23 – March 6, 2010

“Everything children love and parents want... an engaging, intelligent live theater experience” –Southtown Star

“Funny and kid approved... a fantastic, energetic production
that exposes the Bard to the next generation.” –ChicagoCritic.com

CST's Short Shakespeare! productions offer a perfect introduction to the Bard—for audiences of all ages. In this 75-minute abridged production, a wildly entertaining tale unfolds as identical twin brothers—and their identical twin servants—are lost in a mixed-up world of mistaken identities. Following each performance, audiences are welcome to join the cast for a post-show discussion.

Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Approximate Running Time: 75 minutes

Short Shakespeare! The Comedy of Errors is presented in the Jentes Family Auditorium.

Egeon has sailed the seas for five long years in search of his son. Arriving in Ephesus (where Syracusans are strictly forbidden), he is arrested on sight and sentenced for execution that very night unless he can pay a hefty ransom.

And so Egeon begins to tell his sad story: Many years ago a shipwreck tore apart his family. Egeon, along with one twin son named Antipholus and a servant named Dromio, was rescued; but his wife and the twin brothers of both his child and servant were never seen again. Years later when Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio were 18 years old, they set out from Syracuse in search of their brothers. Egeon has not seen them since they left, five years ago.

As luck would have it, though, those same two young men that very same morning also arrived in Ephesus of all places...And by another strange stroke of fate, Antipholus's twin (Antipholus of Ephesus) has been living right here in Ephesus for all these years with his own servant—named, coincidentally, Dromio of Ephesus...To everybody who runs into one twin or another, the brothers are indistinguishable—and for one mixed-up day, mistaken identity, misadventure and mishap turn life in Ephesus completely topsy-turvy.

As the visitors from Syracuse grow ever more certain that this strange land is bewitched, the natives draw their own conclusions. All hope of sanity seems quite lost—until an Abbess with knowledge of life beyond the cloistered walls amazes us all...

– Contributed by the CST Education Department

Act-by-Act Synopsis

Dramatis Personae

	Open Door: Audience Enrichment Programs CST offers post-show programs with members of the cast: Talk Backs.
	Recorded Excerpts from Talk Back Discussions Post-show discussions with the cast are held after performance. Recordings are updated throughout the run of the production.
	Teacher Workshop Lecture Listen to a lecture by a Shakespeare scholar presented as part of our The Comedy of Errors Teacher Workshop.
	Games and Activities Audiences of all ages can further explore the world of the play with these fun suggestions.
	A Scholar’s Perspective by Clark Hulse Clark Hulse explains his particular seven theories of comedy.
	Shakespeare's Sources Shakespeare based The Comedy of Errors on Menaechmi, by the Roman playwright Plautus, who tells the story of a Syracusean merchant, the father of identical twin sons. After one of the twins is kidnapped, his infant brother is renamed in his memory, and years later goes to search for his lost identical twin.
	Historical Context A traveling troupe of players presents The Comedy of Errors in David H. Bell’s production. Shakespeare’s plays were performed at London’s first playhouses, but were surely performed on the road, as well.
	Performance History The stage history of The Comedy of Errors could be compared to that of the late comedic actor Rodney Dangerfield. It gets no respect—and there, in some ways, lies the key to its success.
	Scholars, Authors and Artists on The Comedy of Errors Straight-out farce or a more complex vision of life's instability? Since the late 1500s, many voices have weighed in, included Coleridge, Swinburne and Dowden.
	Delving Deeper A portal to the world of Shakespeare, these selected internet sites lead further into the exploration of Shakespeare in performance, his life and times, the original texts, and much more.

The Cast
See who’s who among the actors.

The Creative Team
See who’s who on the creative team—the director, designers and other artists who contribute to the creation of the world of the play.

	Hear from the Director Watch a video of director David H. Bell discussing what he finds exciting about his production of Short Shakespeare! The Comedy of Errors
	View Photo Gallery See a preview of this wildly entertaining introduction to the Bard.
	View the Costume Designs See some of Costume Designer Ana Kuzmanic’s renderings for Short Shakespeare! The Comedy of Errors.
	A Conversation with Director David Bell Director David H. Bell discusses how the world of the play and the play-within-a-play are created for this abridged production of The Comedy of Errors when it first premiered at CST.

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