George NewsĪ fast-paced farce, replete with the Bard’s famous wordplay, slapstick and mistaken identity, the play fulfilled Heidi Lee’s need to stage a crowd-pleaser as audiences begin to return to theaters. An actor runs lines before going on stage at a rehearsal of “The Comedy of Errors” in Santa Clara, Utah, Ap| Photo by David Dudley, St. The Santa Clara City Shakespeare in the Park company will be performing a 90-minute version of the play, set in New Orleans in 1920. “The Comedy of Errors” is thought to be one of Shakespeare’s early plays. Lee said many of his fellow cast-members have been performing together since high school. We’ve got such a great group, and a lot of us have been doing this stuff together for a long time.” He said that, in order to memorize Shakespeare’s wordplay, he spent a lot of time in the attic at work, repeating the lines out loud. “When Heidi asked me to play the role, I’d forgot I had played it in high school,” he told St. Luckily for Michael Lee, he played the role when he attended Snow Canyon High School in 2002. Though the show was set to open in two days, the carpenters, props and sound crews were still busy with last-minute tasks. George NewsĪs Lee said that, her husband used a leaf blower to clear the stage of debris. He’s my true love.” The sound team mics up an actor during a rehearsal of “The Comedy of Errors” in Santa Clara, Utah, Ap| Photo by David Dudley, St. “Not only is he my producing partner, but he’s also playing the lead, Antipholus of Syracuse. “Michael’s my biggest supporter,” she said. One of these roles would be filled by her husband. Lee said two-thirds of the performers returned, but she needed to fill some key roles. Lee canceled the show but promised the performers that they would have their parts when they were able to put the show on. The company was actually set to perform this show last year, but then COVID-19 prompted health officials to caution against gathering in large groups. They founded their Shakespeare company in 2018. Lee, who earned degrees in theatre and education and spent 10 years teaching in the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, is a Santa Clara native who returned to the area in 2014 with her husband. We haven’t experienced anything like this for over a year.” “It’s really important for me that we can all enjoy Shakespeare right now. “It will be a breath of fresh air,” she told St. Their production of William Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors,” which runs Friday, Saturday and Monday, will be held outdoors. Heidi Lee, who founded Santa Clara City Shakespeare in the Park along with her husband, Michael, is uniquely positioned to bypass those barriers. Director Heidi Lee (center) discusses the play with a young cast member at a rehearsal of “The Comedy of Errors” in Santa Clara, Utah, Ap| Photo by David Dudley, St. GEORGE - Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, there have been two barriers to attending theater productions: the cost of tickets to people who might’ve been facing financial difficulties and a general reluctance to join a large crowd inside a building. One of those cast members, Jasmine Johnson, says she’s been missing part of herself without theatre.ST. We hope to keep this group together, but the likelihood is low.” To get all of the stars in one cast, we were very fortunate to come at the timing we did. Usually, we’re spread apart, being the stars in a bunch of different shows. It’s really hard to get them all in one show, though. We’ve been to shows with all of these folks at any given point. “Now that the restrictions have been lifted, folks are eager to do shows. Let’s be honest, not a lot of shows have been going on lately because of COVID and restrictions,” Brannan said. Assistant Director Alyssa Brannan says that COVID-19 closures helped make it possible for the talent in the show to come together for two special performances. The all-star cast is performing an abridged version of the Shakespearean classic. So, we just want to entertain people with some new, creative, unique art.” So, we wanted to make sure that it was free and accessible to everyone to come and enjoy, not have to pay any money. “I really wanted to contribute our twist on Shakespeare and expose it to contemporary audiences that aren’t really used to it. “I haven’t seen a lot of Shakespeare done down here on the Coast” said Lind.
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