By :Director Nicole Churbock , Costume Designer Jasmine Aquino,

Set Designer Jaira Pereznegron, and Light Designer Nickolas Start

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Since the aim of this production is to honor William Shakespeare’s play by following the original story as closely as possibly, I would adapt the script directly from the book.

Most likely Penguin Classics version

Certain words have a more Shakespearian feel than similar words in other versions

I would discuss any questions I had about overarching themes or loose ends with a play critic or an individual who

studied Shakespeare in depth to garner a deeper understanding and appreciation of the material.

DIRECTOR NICOLE CHURBOCK

SCRIPT

Young Castilla Flockhart as Beatrice: She’s already familiar with performing Shakespeare as she was casted as Helena in the 1999 film. She perfected playing a profound

yet talkative role, so I believe she’ll do a great job playing a witty, loving, and generous woman.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Benedick: If you don’t think Benedict Cumberbatch could whoop you in a battle of wits, you haven’t seen Sherlock. He has a reputation already for

playing odd yet brilliant men, and he has appeared in London theatres since 2001. Taking on a sassy aristocrat

will be no trouble for this abled actor.

CAST

Daniel Radcliffe as Claudio: Mr. Harry Potter is already very familiar with playing a noble heroic figure who

sometimes gets consumed with his emotions. Throughout the play, it becomes evident that Claudio still has a lot of maturing to do, as exemplified through his fickle feelings for Hero. Daniel Radcliffe can mix the perfect amount of

angst and heroism needed for this role.

Lily Collins as Hero: She can play quiet and submissive well. Hero has a lack of distinguishing characteristics and doesn’t often speak up, but she is sweet natured, pretty,

and the typical “good girl”.

CAST CONTINUED

Antonio Banderas as Don Pedro: Don Pedro is the most powerful and influential character in the play. He’s a

socialite, politically influential, and a total sweet-talker. He’s also the covert matchmaker in the play. Who better to play a sly, powerful “prince” than the Spanish heartthrob,

who is additionally familiar working in a theatre?

Gerard Butler as Don John: Don John is never delved into as a character. He’s pretty much the typical bad guy.

Gerard Butler charmed me as the troubled bad guy in the Phantom of the Opera, and he has the menacing smirk that

screams, “Don’t trust me!” While the audience will immediately recognize his fake nature, the characters will

not be able to identify this as quickly.

CAST CONTINUED

Much of Much Ado’s conflict arises because of manipulation and dishonesty, which are central themes

in the play. The “spine” of the play therefore lies in the idea that everyone will lie in some way or another to achieve

their own means to an end

Simplest, most one-dimensional way to understand this idea is to watch/read the play with the mindset that everyone is selfish and

working out of self interest

Not necessarily true, but in almost all cases, lying is caused by a character’s motivation to achieve some desired end through deception

THE “SPINE”

Out of desire to adhere to Shakespeare’s original vision as closely as possible, the style of the play will be realism set

in the 16th century.

For the directorial concept, I feel that costumes, scenery, and props should have a warm, breezy, Mediterranean feel.

The style should be fun and light to reflect the comedic nature of the script.

The purpose of this choice is to remain true to the original spirit of the script. I want to emulate Shakespeare’s spirit rather than boast a lame, floundering directorial gimmick.

STYLE/DIRECTORIAL CONCEPT

Style for Men:

Men wore long sleeve, white linen, shirts that had a round neckline that was bordered with embroidery.

The doublet would be waist length. Laces were used to hold pieces together, such as the sleeves. It is worn under armor

to deter physical damage

Jerkin is a leather vest that extends down to the knee

Upper hose is covers the upper thighs to the waist

Much Ado About Nothing was taken place in the 16th century at Messina, Italy. The style of the casts’ attire will reflect the early fashion that was the time when medieval

styles were transitioning to a more renaissance sort.

COSTUME DESIGNERBY: JASMINE AQUINO

Style For Women:

Women (and men) wore a stomacher, which was a garment

used to conceal the chest and stomach. Women wear this

under their bodice. The bodice provides the lady with a curved waist, flat chested, appearance.

Skirts were long and hand an open down the front of the skirt.

Working women wore a kirtle: a sleeveless, square neck, dress

that was laced up on the side or the back

The shoes’ materials were either wood

COSTUME DESIGNER

Relationships:

Hero’s Father

Beatrice’s Uncle

Good friend of Don Pedro

Role:

Governor of Messina, Italy

His house was the main setting of the play

Personality:

Well-known and loving man

Easily persuaded by words and other characters which applies to the theme that lies and deception can easily

destruct love without communication.

Symbolic Costume:

Because he was an important man, his costume will have silk since it represents wealth

Purple, indigo, and bright red colors will represent his important presence

Because he is old, he will have a white beard, and use makeup to resemble wrinkles

LEONATO

Relationships:

Daughter of Leonato

Beatrice’s Cousin

Claudio’s lover

Role:

To fall in love with Claudio

The victim who is blamed for Don Jon’s immoral scheme

Personality:

Shy and sweet

Holds no grudges, such as when Claudio shamed her at the alter on

their wedding and she happily takes him in after she is proven

innocent

HERO

Symbolic Costume:To stay in style, Hero will wear a skirt that opens in the front and a wheel farthingale with lace around her neckPink represents her positive, and feminine personality. White will reflect her purity and virginity.Corset to have a straight postureHair is pinned up to show elegance

Relationships:

Daughter of Antonio

Hero’s Cousin

Lover of Benedick

Role:

To put aside her jokes and puns, to show love towards Benedick; to be afraid of love

Appear as if love and marriage was not what she wanted, when truly she longs for Benedick

Supporter of Hero

Personality:

Sweet, yet sarcastic

Holds no grudges, such as when Claudio shamed her at the alter on their wedding and she happily takes him in after

she is proven innocent

Prideful

Symbolic Costume:

Corset to keep upper body forward and have a straight posture

Red represents her strength in maintaining content, as well as her determination to stay away from falling in love

Hair is pinned up

BEATRICE

Relationships:•Loyal follower of Don Pedro•Lover of Hero•Good friend of Benedick

Role:•Fall in love with Hero•Has a reputation of being a well-liked, charming man•A soldier who follows Don Pedro

Personality: •He is shy and emotional, such as when Don Pedro had to court with Hero for her to have interest in him•Easily gives up, such as when he gave up Hero twice because of how easily he was deceived by Don Jon •Very gullible•Gives into his emotions; can be childish at times

Symbolic Costume:•To represent his soldier title, Claudio will wear an armor above his clothing.•During the times when he is feeling in love, he will wear warm colors to symbolize his happy mood•During the scenes where he is feeling vengeful, he will wear a dark, violet, reddish color to symbolize his frustration•His clothes will be embodied with silk to show his pride

CLAUDIO & BENEDICK

Relationships:

•Good friend of Claudio,Lover of Beatrice

•Loyal follower of Don Pedro

Role:

•Evidently express his love for Beatrice

•Careless about love and marriage, such as when Benedick jokes around with Claudio while he was upset over Hero

Personality:

•Sarcastic, which is why he complements well with Beatrice

•In the beginning, he comes up as careless, but in the end he finds his priority in love and is loyal to Beatrice

Symbolic Costume:

•When in his soldier attire, he will wear an armor above his clothing

•Most of his costume will consist of blue to represent his loyal personality

•Breeches will be worn

Relationships:

•Good friend of Leonato

•Leader of Claudio and Benedick

•Brother of Don Jon

Role:

•Powerful character in the play, since he is Prince of Aragon

•Creates that loving environment between a couple, such as when he courted Hero for Claudio or tricked Beatrice and Benedick to fall in love

•The man who is looked up to by everyone because of his maturity and title

Personality:

•A loyal friend, A believer in love

•Humble and wise

Symbolic Costume:

•Applying red to his costume will represent his leadership quality. Yellow will bring out his positive qualities of his effort to bring out love

•Short hair and a groomed beard

Relationships:

• Brother of Don Pedro

• Head of Borachio and Conrad

Role:

•The trouble maker who envies those that are successful

• Creates the tension and difficulties between relationships

• An outcast, or “a bastard”

Personality:

• Deceiving

• An honest man to himself, yet misleading to others

Symbolic Costume:

• Black will show his evil quality

•A dull and simple style to represent his feelings about his own character, which are different and unloved

• Hair will be long to go along with his outcast appearance

DON PEDRO & DON JON

Relationships:

•Hero’s Servants

•Borachio’s lover (Margaret)

Role:

•A lower-class woman (Margaret)

•Innocently used to deceive Hero (Margaret)

•Helped bring Beatrice and Benedick together (Ursula)

Personality:

•Obedient, patient (Ursula)

•Young and somewhat disloyal (Margaret)

Symbolic Costume:

•A kirtle will show their occupation

Relationships:

• Don Jon’s followers

•Margaret’s lover (Borachio)

Role:

•Invented the plan of tricking Claudio to honor Don Jon and uses Margaret’s love to their advantage

(Borachio)

• Loyally serves Don Jon

Personality:

• Loyal and sinful

• Enjoys making trouble

Symbolic Costume:

•Black jerkin with blue lower hose to show their evil character and their loyalty to what they believe in

MARGARET/URSALA & BORACHIO/CONRADE

Relationships:

•Under Verges’ authority

Role:

•Has a speaking problem, known as the stuttering sergeant

•To communicate to Don Pedro and Claudio that Conrade and Borachio has been arrested

Personality:

•Passionate about his career

•Strives to communicate well

Symbolic Costume:

•Because of his occupation, his costume will consist of the Italian colors: green, red, and white

Role:

•Marries Hero and Claudio

•Brought hope to Leonato that Hero is innocent from what she was accused of and arranged the idea to claim she was dead until the truth comes out

Personality:

•Pure and holy

•Wise

Symbolic Costume:

•White beard, to look old to symbolize his years of wisdom

•A brown robe to suit his role as a friar

DOGBERRY & FRIAR FRANCIS

The scenic environment of this play would be help in a

mansion that was built in the 16th century. The play’s setting is in Leonato’s house and since he is the Governor of Messina,

Italy he has to live in a fancy mansion that goes along with

the power he has.

SET DESIGN: JAIRA PEREZNEGRONSCENIC ENVIRONMENT

This example of a hand crafted chair made in the 16th century is a perfect

example of how I am going portray the confusion of what the audience will see

on stage. When it is open you can clearly see a chair but when it is closed you try to figure out what exactly that object is.

MOOD & STYLE

The room here portrays colors that I believe set up the moods the play tries to establish. The play has a tone/mood of love, romance, passion , chastity, and sometimes even anger. The red color on the walls and furniture represent the tones/moods I mentioned above of Love and Passion. It could even portray the anger that the characters feel when they are being manipulated by the antagonist of the play. The white color represents the chastity and innocence that Hero resembles throughout the play. The patterns on the furniture, wall, and carpet are all different which kind of throws the audience off about what the set represents.

In this play the set would be a of a realistic theatre because the events that occur are drama of the love situations that

one can encounter in an everyday life situation. It might not be the actual person experiencing this drama due to love but one can be a bystander or witness of these types of

events. There are even times when we see couples verbally fighting and we tended to find it funny. It is also a realistic

theatre because of the setting that the place contains which is always in Leonato’s estate; room or hall. The audience

will be able to notice this by the furniture, tables, and pictures in the set that resemble a room of any house hold

REALISTIC THEATRE

This picture is helpful in determining the locale and period of where the play is

happening. By the condition and type of furniture you

can tell that wealthy people reside in that house. The furniture also helps us

realize that the time period is in the 16th century due to

the set up of the set. The paintings of what look like

royal/important people aren’t used in our modern

day.

LOCALE & PERIOD

The Director of our play believes that we should have the visual image of the play

as fun and full of life and I agree with this concept. Which is the reason I would

have the set with bright colors mostly red, pink, and white. This would allow

the audience to sense that it is a comedy despite the serious scenes going on

during the play. Another thing I could do to help the audience understand it is a comedy is to instead of adding serious portraits of royal people on the walls of

the room I would add funny posses of the royal people. This would help the

audience see that they do not have to take everything that happens serious

EVOLVING A DESIGN CONCEPT

The set would have beaver fur hung as a masterpiece which would help symbolize how we

tame not just other species but also amongst each other. For

example Benedick tamed Beatrice heart as well as

Beatrice tamed Benedick’s heart. This is visible when we

would read that the characters said they would never marry that they would rather die

alone yet in the end they are both in love. The beaver skin as well could symbolize death which is used to bring Claudio and Hero together in the end

of the play

CENTRAL IMAGE/VISUAL METAPHOR

What I would do now to ensure that the set fits properly is create a ground plan and set out where I would place the chairs, couches, tables, etc. It would also help me know

how many objects I will be able to place in the stage without making it feel too empty because I feel that the set should be kind of crowded. This would help reinforce the idea that whatever one character does affects the others

around him, if you start to move around in a crowded room you will inevitably bump into people and other objects.

COORDINATION WITH PRODUCTION ELEMENTS

Lighting will help set the mood and establish the locations for the scenes. Since the setting for the

play is at or outside Leonato’s house, most

indoor scenes will employ white light to create the appearance of indoor or

sunny, outdoor space (exceptions to follow)

LIGHTING DESIGN: NICKOLAS START

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Act II, Scene 1: The Masked Ball. Colorful reds, yellows and greens should compliment the costumes worn by the actors in this scene.

Act II, Scene 3: The arbor scene. Since it is the later pre-dinner hours by this point, subdued lighting will give the scene an evening look and make Benedick’s “hiding” more convincing.

SPECIFIC LIGHTING, BY SCENE

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Act III, Scene 3: The policeman scene. Dim, blue-grey area lighting and a streetlamp or two will give the appearance of night and reinforce the sad notion that Don John has deceived Claudio into believing his fiancée has been impure. However, the spotty, brighter lighting shined around the streetlamps will not take away from the humor of Dogberry and Verges.

Act IV, Scene 1: The Church Scene. Spotty blue and purple illumination will create the illusion of a room lined with stained-glass windows. The dull colors should not compromise the sad state of affairs.

LIGHTING, BY SCENE(CONTINUED)

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Act V, Scene 3: The Tomb Scene. A relatively small patch of light, about the size of a small room, will create the appearance of a box around Claudio, an illusory tomb.

Act V, Scene 4: The Wedding Scene. More spotty colors, but this time a wider variety of colors will transmit a more cheery mood, fitting for the ending of one of Shakespeare’s comedies.

LIGHTING, BY SCENE(CONTINUED)

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