As part of the college鈥檚 celebration, 蜜桃传媒 Festival Theatre features the work of seven alumni in William Shakespeare鈥檚 鈥淢uch Ado About Nothing鈥� Oct. 26 at 8:30 p.m., Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Nov. 1-3 at 8 p.m., all in 蜜桃传媒's Porter Theatre. Tickets are $7 for students and seniors, $10 for adults, and can be purchased online at or by calling (805) 565-7140.
Award-winning director says 鈥淢uch Ado鈥� is his favorite Shakespearean comedy, and he鈥檚 wanted to direct it for some time. 鈥淲henever I tell people that I am directing 鈥楳uch Ado,鈥� they say, 鈥極h! I love that play!鈥� he says. 鈥淚 love it too. There is always a bit of pressure when directing something from the canon, but what鈥檚 remarkable is how fresh, funny and modern the play feels in the rehearsal room. Expectations fall away and we just get to revel in the opportunity to work on a very, very good play.鈥�
The alumni design/production team includes: 鈥�04 (lighting design), 鈥�97 (dramaturgy), 鈥�08 (costume design), Cameron Squire 鈥�05 (production management/technical direction), Gregory Wadsworth 鈥�06 (composer / sound design), 鈥�08 (choreography), and 鈥�10 (art design). 鈥淎ll of the alumni have gone on to graduate school or professional careers in their respective areas, and we鈥檙e very excited to showcase their work for our community and to have them interact with our current students,鈥� Thomas says.
The play is set on the idyllic coast of Italy at the turn of the century on a winemaker鈥檚 seaside estate. 鈥淚t will be a beautifully designed show that we hope gets at the heart of the romance, danger, passion, farce and love that this play contains,鈥� he says. 鈥溾�楳uch Ado鈥� is a riotously funny, beautiful and challenging play and I am grateful to get to work on it and share it with our audiences.鈥�
Thomas, associate professor of theater arts, racked up two more for his acting roles in 鈥淧eer Gynt鈥� and 鈥淐reditors.鈥� He earned an for directing 鈥淭he Bald Soprano.鈥�