EUSC Open Call

May 1 2018 | By More

Much Ado About Nothing for EdFringe

Edinburgh University Shakespeare Society is to stage its first ever EdFringe production and has put out and open call to auditions for Much Ado About Nothing, running in week three of EdFringe 2018.

The production will be directed by Joe Christie who made his directorial debut with the UK premiere of Tom at the Farm in February. The auditions will be held on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 May with slots taking place from 5-9pm both evenings.

Although the company is student-based, Christie says that he is keen to attract non-student performers to join the company. The production will be designed by Iona Tangri with lighting by Elissa Webb who both worked with with Christie on Tom at the Farm.

Much Ado About Nothing follows the budding romances of four lovers as their families gather for a languid summer of revelries.

The feisty Beatrice and witty Benedick cannot accept that they could fall in love at all, let alone with each other. Meanwhile their friends Hero and Claudio fall in love at once and share an intense romance. However, as the festivities heat up and summer draws on, gossip and betrayal threaten to tear them apart.



Christie told Æ: “We are keeping the setting of Sicily but updating it to the early 1980s, an idyllic setting with some darker political undercurrents to it. This will hopefully bring out lot of the intertwining themes of the play as well bringing some less examined ideas into sharper relief.

“The cast will work as an ensemble with a good portion of the them playing multiple parts, and they will be working with some of Shakespeare’s most brilliant dialogue. It will be an exciting opportunity to stretch and showcase their talents to a large fringe audience.”

Christie is looking for a cast of around ten, in an ensemble. The roles of Beatrice, Benedick, Hero and Claudio will be cast individually. The rest of the actors
will multi-role as the other characters.

The production will play from Monday 20 to Saturday 25 August 2018 at 2:55pm in TheSpace on Niddry Street. The rehearsal process will span all of July
and August with a read-through in May after casting.

Listings:

Much Ado About Nothing Auditions
Thursday 10 May,  5-9pm: Teviot Study, Teviot Row House, EH8 9AJ
Friday 11 May, 5-9pm: Cheviot Room, Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance EH8 9TJ.
Audition facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/
Sign up to auditions on Google Forms: https://docs.google.com/forms/.
Email for further details: eushakespeareproducer@gmail.com.

Much Ado About Nothing
TheSpace on Niddry Street, Niddry St, Edinburgh, EH1 1TH
Monday 20 – Saturday 25 August 2018
Daily: 2:55pm
Tickets will be available from: https://tickets.edfringe.com/

EUSC Website: www.eushakespeare.com.
Facebook: @eushakespeare.
Twitter: @EdUniShakeSoc.

Character Outlines

Beatrice – Leonato’s niece and Hero’s cousin. Witty, good natured, self-assured.
Benedick – An aristocratic friend of Don Pedro and Claudio. Observant, charismatic, clever.
Hero – Beatrice’s cousin and daughter of Leonato. Compassionate, loving, wise.
Claudio – Benedick’s friend. Naïve, idealistic, romantic.
Don Pedro – An important nobleman and friend of Benedick and Claudio. Generous, benevolent, attentive.
Leonato – Father of Hero, uncle of Beatrice. Respected, kind, protective.
Don John – The illegitimate brother of Don Pedro. Cunning, brooding, calculating.
Margaret – Lover of Borachio. Boisterous, honest, gullible.
Borachio – Associate of Don John. Vulgar, unruly, loud.
Conrad – Don John’s close associate. Submissive, melancholy, conniving.
Dogberry – Constable in charge of the watch. Sincere, ambitious, serious.
Verges – Deputy to Dogberry.
Antonio – Beatrice’s father and brother of Leonato.
Balthasar – Leonato’s waiting man.
Ursula – One of Hero’s waiting women.

ENDS

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