MUCH ADO ABOUT

Much Ado About Shakespeare

As the Ides of March draws nearer, students, director of Much Ado About Nothing challenge stigmas of Shakespearian literature

EMILY CARLISLE STORY VERONICA TEETER PHOTOS

ll the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” The actors at Civic Theatre are living by this quote from William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” as they prepare to perform one of the most beloved Shakespearean works, “Much Ado About Nothing”, which plays February 7 through tomorrow. “Much Ado About Nothing” is a classic love story, set after a war in Sicily. However, according to the director of the show, Emily Rogge Tzucker, one of the fun yet challenging parts of producing one of the Bard’s plays is deciding where to set it.

“You often have to figure out a setting for the play. You don’t always have to put it in Renaissance costumes and someplace in Italy,” Tzucker said. “You’ve got to think about a place and a time that highlights the story and makes sense, so the setting doesn’t distract from the actual work.”

Julia Ammons, actress in the production and senior, said Tzucker placed the show in the furthest place from Sicily in the 16th century.

“Picture what you normally think would be in a Shakespeare production; like monologues and “A

HAPPY TO HELP: Stephanie Johnson (LEFT) and senior Julia Ammons (RIGHT), actresses in the Civic Theatre’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” stand at the ready in their maid costumes during the opening scene. Ammons said she believes it is important to keep Shakespeare alive even if it takes effort to read his works.

grandeur and traditions, except we’ve set it in 1940s Los Angeles,” Ammons said. “So (Tzucker) made one of the main characters, Leonardo, a big movie producer. It is set at his big mansion in L.A. And as soldiers are coming home from war, World War II, in this case, they return to a city as opposed to an island in Italy.”

Tzucker said she knew exactly what she wanted when it came to the show’s setting.

“I knew that I wanted it to have an American setting to make it more accessible to our audience. And the play happens right at the end of the war, so I had to figure out a time in American history that was at the end of a war,” Tzucker said. “The play is a romantic comedy and romantic comedies are always fun and everybody’s a little glamorous; it’s not very rough and edgy. Plus romantic comedies in America really became a big thing in the 1940s right when World War II ended. So for me that seems like the perfect time period.

“There’s also dancing in most Shakespeare comedies,” Tzucker added, “I wanted a time period that had great styles of dance, it just really just fit exactly what I had in mind.”

But it is not just the location that can challenge audiences. Chloe Wareham, co-president of the CHS Shakespeare club and junior, said that she MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE: Julia Ammons (CENTER), actress in the Civic Theatre’s “Much Ado About Nothing” and senior, dances with actor Jonathan Doram during a dress rehearsal on Feb. 6. The dance takes place in celebration of the wedding between Claudio and Hero during the ending of the play.

has seen a disconnect between students and the Bard because of language, too. “Some people treat (Shakespearean dialect) like it’s a whole different language. But the stories and the language are interesting, even if it is hard to understand,” Wareham said. “It definitely takes a little bit of practice, but it’s not really too labor-intensive. A lot of times I’ll read through a passage and then if I’m feeling a little bit lost, then ‘No Fear Shakespeare’ (a website geared to help translate classical literature to modern English) is always my friend.” Ammons said she also noticed a stigma surrounding Shakespeare. “I think there’s a big stigma around Shakespeare being bor

five by five Take a look at how to read iambic pentameter

a basic rhythm that closely resembles everyday speech or a heartbeat. It allows playwrights to imitate regular speech in their verses Iambic Pentameter:

Shall I

compare thee to a sum mer’s day?

Unstressed (short) syllable followed by a stressed (long) syllable Total of five sets of stressed and unstressed syllables, for a total of 10 syllables

TESSA COLLINSON, GRAY MARTENS GRAPHIC NO SWEAT SHAKESPEARE SOURCE

ing. People don’t understand the literature and the phrasing in the dialect, but I think it is important to keep that literature alive even if it requires a little more work on the reader’s part,” she said. “We have so many shows nowadays that are very progressive. ‘Dear Evan Hansen’, for example, has screens onstage to add to the digital feel of the set. But Shakespeare is just as interesting and it is so important to keep what theater was founded in alive.” Tzucker also said she believed keeping this pillar of Western literature alive was important.

“I am a college professor, I’m an actor and a director, but I imagine many high school teachers struggle with making students understand the importance of these texts,” she said. “Everyone is so engaged in their screens that this type of story can just take you away from all of that. I also think that Shakespeare’s plays or any play for that matter were ultimately written to be performed. When they were written, they weren’t written in book form. Each actor just had their lines with the cue from the previous person, which to me especially says they were meant to be performed. So seeing them either in movie form or live on stage is a great way to make the content more accessible.” h

Show choir competitions are beneficial for choir students For the Win!

umi Colombo, Accents member and junior, spends her SRT in room P118 working with her choir director to perfect the dances the Accents are learning for their competition set. When Colombo isn’t in SRT for choir, she also attends required evening rehearsals, where she gets to sing and dance with her closest friends. All of this effort is put forth to ensure she’s doing her part to help the Accents be the best they can be on competition days—like the competition in Chicago on March 5.

Colombo said while preparations for the four competitions the Accents participate in can be stressful, the choir’s hard work is worth it because these competitions allow choir members to work toward a bigger purpose, which alternatively helps them to bond and become closer as a group.

“I think competition is a great way to bond because when you are on your way to a competition, when you are on buses, when you’re preparing and having those sets, you have the mindset of Y having one common goal and we’re one team that needs to get to that goal, you definitely bond more because you are all trying to get to the same thing, which is just winning or trying your best or having fun,” Colombo said.

However, it’s not just about hanging out with friends or winning a trophy for members of Carmel Choirs. Kyle Barker, associate director of choirs, said he uses competition as a tool to help choir students achieve a greater goal of excellence. Preparing to compete helps members of Carmel Choirs pay more attention to detail, helping them to become better performers overall.

“We have a lot of ways to try and motivate people and get them to be the best versions of themselves, and competition is a great way to do that,” Barker said. “When you’ve got the extra goal of knowing you’re going to be judged by people that are highly qualified in the field, you’re going to be seen by schools across the country and you’re going to be going up against them too, it makes your work process—just like a sport—it’s going to make that process that much more intense. You’re going to be more detail oriented. You’re going to rehearse more frequently.” CHOREOGRAPHY CRAZE: Yumi Colombo, Accents member and junior (left) along with other members of Accents practice the set choreography during a Wednesday night rehearsal. Colombo said practicing long hours has motivated the choir to work towards improvement as well as create a close bond among the girls. KASSANDRA DARNELL STORY EMILY SANDY, VERONICA TEETER PHOTOS OLIVIA CHILDRESS GRAPHIC

For Emme Walschlager, Allegro member and senior, rehearsing for competition has changed her outlook on choir. Prior to this school year, Allegro only competed as a concert choir.

This year, however, they will be participating in one show choir competition. But this is Walschlager’s first year competing in a choir.

“I feel like I have a bigger purpose. I feel like it’s more fun prepping for things outside of regular concerts,” Walschlager said. “It’s fun to have our own individual things and to have our own individual set that’s catered towards us.”

Walschlager said she feels that working toward a competition has caused her choir to become closer as a family and also helped members of Allegro to work harder because they’re working towards a higher goal.

“I feel as if we’re working harder because we’re working towards something bigger than just ISSMA or just a song we’re performing at one of our concerts. It’s something that we’re all excited about,” Walschlager said. “I think that having a competition, even if it’s just one for Allegro, is important because it bonds us together and kind of helps make a community amongst us because we’re working together more than we would’ve been in the past.”

This year is Colombo’s second year competing at show choir competitions and said that while she does enjoy competing and loves how much closer she feels with her fellow members of Accents because of it, she feels the competition mindset can get out of hand and become toxic.

“Competition is easily toxic if you are the one to increase that toxicity or you’re the one to help it grow,” Colombo said. “But if you’re the one who focuses on the positivity and the greatness of competition, it can improve the whole environment and make everyone else feel more positive. It’s all about mentality. If you have the right mentality, usually competition is fun and nice.” When it comes to how competitive competitions can be, Barker said

WORK HARD, SING HARD: Emme Walschlager, Allegro member and senior, sings during her choir class. Walschlager said competing allowed the choir to work harder towards a higher goal.

ready, set, go! Take a look at the sets of the CHS competition choirs

Theme Moulin Rouge Songs La Vie en Rose (Edith Piaf) Lady Marmalade (Moulin Rouge) Ambassadors Accents Theme Mothers and Daughters Songs Mom (Meghan Trainor) Don’t Tell Mama (Cabaret)

Allegro Theme Make It Shine Songs Make itShine (Victorious) Original (SMASH) (The Prom) Zazz

New Edition Theme California Dreamin’ Songs California Gurls (Katy Perry) LA Devotee (Panic! at the Disco)

Chesterton, IN Indianapolis, IN Chicago, IL Brownsburg, IN Competitions

KATHERINE KOUNS SOURCE

h he believes that while it can be difficult to try not to focus too much on winning, competition at its core is about helping choirs achieve a higher bar of excellence that wouldn’t be possible without competing.

“There’s a lot of speculation amongst music teachers about whether competitive music is something that should be fostered because the whole idea of the love of music and the expression it creates is something that sometimes differs in areas of competition, but I feel like you’re able to (love and express music) better when you’re a better ensemble and if this helps us get there, then great,” Barker said. “I think it can be dangerous if the only goal is the trophy, but I feel really strongly that it’s a really good tool to use.

Scan this to learn more about the Carmel Choirs program

Entertainment Spotlight

In a Dae’s Work

Junior Ellie Barnett sings for YouTube group Dae3

CHRISTIAN LEDBETTER Q & A VERONICA TEETER PHOTO

When do you find time to record with your group?

(My group mates) live in Nashville (Tenn.) I live here now, so it’s whenever I come. Every three months we film five videos.

How do you choose video ideas or songs to cover? We usually film three videos whenever we’re together and we all choose what we want to do. We usually try to stick to what’s

popular at the time.

Were there YouTubers who inspired you to create Dae3? There is this girl group called Cimorelli. They reached out to us after our third video and they invited us to their Halloween party. So we went over there; it was really cool and we got to meet all of them and then we hung out with those girls a lot.

YOUTUBE SENSATION: Junior Ellie Barnett records a video of her singing a cover. Barnett, along with two others from Nashville (Tenn.) formed the group Dae3 where they post videos on YouTube.

Scan this to see Dae3’s Youtube channel