For the cast of “Much Ado About Nothing,” Monday night was just another night of tech week with No Refund Theatre.
The 18-member cast sidestepped pieces of the set as they prepared for another run-through, the sound of screeching power drills and frantic questions about dresses filling the room.
It’s hard to believe that in just a few hours, an 8 a.m. class would descend upon the same Forum classroom.
No Refund Theatre — better known as NRT — is a student-run theatre company that performs a free show in 111 Forum nearly every weekend of the semester.
Whitney Rahoi, director of this weekend’s show, said that preparing for the first performance of the semester has been a hectic experience.
“We’ve only had about five weeks to rehearse, which is no time at all compared to a lot of other NRT shows,” Rahoi (senior-nutrition) said. “It’s definitely nerve-wracking, but it’s been so fulfilling and exciting to see it all come together.”
“Much Ado About Nothing” will be the first show that Rahoi has directed. Being one of her favorite Shakespeare plays, Rahoi has always wanted to do her own rendition of the comedy.
The show follows two very different pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero, as they encounter the trickery and manipulation of themselves and others.
“It’s actually a pretty funny play,” said Max Simone (senior- english and film), who plays the villain Don John. “Shakespeare is the best writer who ever lived, and this play has aged tremendously well.”
Regardless of the fact that “Much Ado About Nothing” is an older play, people will still be able to understand it, Leah Pappas said.
“It’s a really entertaining play, and it’s a great way to spend two hours,” she said.
Although Pappas (junior-French and linguistics) has never performed Shakespeare, she said performing as Hero has been a fun challenge.
“It was very daunting when I first read the script, but [NRT members who are familiar with Shakespeare] were able to help me make sense of things,” Pappas said.
Bryan Keith, who plays Benedick in the production, said that it takes a lot of dedication and teamwork to put on a show with NRT.
“If you’re in NRT, you’re a builder, a designer, a painter and an actor,” Keith (junior-film) said.
Despite the stress of putting together a show in such short time, the NRT team still describes the experience as fun and exciting.
“With tech week, we’re here from about 5:30 until midnight,” Alex Strauss (senior-biology neuroscience), who plays Dogberry, said. “So you definitely have to have fun with it, otherwise it’ll just be too stressful.”
NRT’s production of “Much Ado About Nothing” will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in 111 Forum. The cast is also holding an open dress rehearsal at 8 p.m. tonight in the same location.
