A carefully-crafted blend of heavy themes and modern humor, The Comedy of Errors brought together Shakespeare fans and casual viewers alike for an explosion of chaos, confusion, and unrelenting joy. The production was co-directed by College second-years Gio Ayala and Natascha Levine and presented by the Oberlin Student Theater Association in Wilder Main this past weekend.
With the goal of making Shakespeare more approachable for diverse audiences, Ayala and Levine incorporated contemporary references throughout the performance. From the iconic intro of Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” to the 6–7 gesture, the show’s design was stocked with moments that elicited roars of laughter throughout the room. While both directors are longtime Shakespeare fans, there was further reasoning behind them choosing The Comedy of Errors.
“Shakespeare has been overly intellectualized,” Ayala said. “The Comedy of Errors felt like an example that Shakespeare doesn’t really take himself too seriously. He’s allowed to have fun.”
The cast was outstanding, with each actor bringing a unique energy and spunk to the show. College first-years Ghulam Aliridha Woolman and Cameron Rangan played twin brothers Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse. Their fiery energy and exaggerated movements were a highlight of the show. From running across the limited space as if they were sprinting on a track to waving their limbs around in constant enthusiasm, Woolman and Rangan brought life to each scene they were in.
In The Comedy of Errors, the Dromios and Antipholuses of Ephesus and Syracuse are long-lost twins who cause chaos among those they interact with. Levine explained the intentionality that went into casting the pairs of twins.
“Not having the actors look alike was very important to us,” she said. “Having this diversity and both being people of color in the Oberlin community … there [are] not a lot of us, so it was really important to us that we did not intentionally cast in a way that was, like, ‘we need these actors to look exactly the same.’”
In fact, this decision in itself was a comedic element. As the directors intended, the Dromios and Antipholuses looked entirely dissimilar, and it was a joy watching characters confuse the two. In addition to differences in their appearance, the cast members playing the Antipholuses had drastically different demeanors. College fourth-year Valerie Clelland, playing Antipholus of Ephesus, was hilarious yet composed and almost reserved. College first-year Joseph Ku-Benjet, playing Antipholus of Syracuse, used animated movements and a dynamic vocal tone that made for great comedy. In one scene, he laid on the floor with a rose, infatuated with his supposed wife’s sister, Luciana, played by College first-year Zola Coppa. Ku-Benjet kicked his feet, raised his eyebrows, and flexed. All of this was accompanied by pink lighting and sensual music, making this one of the most entertaining scenes.
An important change to the original show involved the character design of the Dromios. Levine discussed the process behind this shift.
“There’s the huge glaring issue of slavery, because the Dromios are slaves to the Antipholuses in this show originally,” she said. “So, the way that we wanted to reframe that relationship and dynamic is by framing Dromios more as jesters. … That direction helped guide them toward a more hammy, slapsticky, over-the-top performance that really highlighted the quality of it.”
Another factor in making the show more accessible was strictly avoiding setting the show in a specific time or place. College first-year Louise Baer played Antipholus’ wife, Adriana, and entered the stage with gold earrings, a half-up hairdo, and leopard print. Baer encapsulated female rage perfectly, and at times, I was scared for the Antipholuses myself when their inconsistent behavior catalyzed Adriana’s spiraling frustration.
The various sound effects throughout the performance were essential to the show’s digestibility. Reminiscent of the sound design in old comedy cartoons, the effects enhanced the humor of each time a character injured or embarrassed themselves, or both.
“With the sound, we definitely wanted to have a blend of emulating this more sitcom-esque I Love Lucy backing music, [while blending] that with more contemporary sound effects that were easily recognizable to the audience,” Levine said. “Since the language is Shakespeare, the audience may not immediately understand that what is being said is a joke or what the actual meaning or intention is behind the joke. So I think the sound cues were a really, really important aspect of communicating to the audience [that] this was a joke. This is what’s funny about the joke.”
In one of the final scenes, the two pairs of twins see each other for the first time in a hilarious reveal. The four point at each other, mimicking the Spider-Man meme, and all of the confusion and betrayal that builds up throughout the show comes to a resolution. The audience burst out in hysterics once more, and the directors’ laughter could be heard the loudest.
“A big part of being directors is being there for your actors and being there to support them, regardless of circumstance, whatever you might be experiencing outside of the production,” Levine said. “We both know this as primarily [being] actors ourselves that it is super fulfilling to see your director enjoying this production, but also, we just want it to be there. … This production is our baby.”
