Did you miss me? Shakespeare back in town for weekend festival

"Well, shake it up now, all you've got, woo."

- "Shake It Up," The Cars

After a year away, the Bard's ready to play.

The Abilene Shakespeare Festival is back, again offering two William Shakespeare classics. This year, both are comedies: A musical version of "Love's Labour's Lost," directed by Adam Hester, and "The Taming of the Shrew," directed by Gary Varner.

It takes the likes of Shakespeare to bring both directors out of retirement. AT least, how they define retirement. Both Hester and Varner stay plugged in to local theater.

Each play will be staged twice at ACU's Fulks Theatre, starting at 7:30 p.m.

• "Love's Labor's Lost" - Thursday and Saturday

• "The Taming of the Shrew" - Friday and Sunday

There is no admission cost, but donations are accepted.

As Hamlet might say, 2022 was not to be

Funding was an issue in 2022, when a single show, "Henry V," was to be staged. Hester said auditions had been held before the festival was pulled.

There was a silver lining amid the disappointment.

Abilene Christian alum Peter Hargrave was coming back to play the king. When the show was canceled, Hargrave was able to pursue the role of Scar in a North American touring production of "The Lion King." He won the part.

"Had he been here, doing this, he could not have been in New York, where he lives, and gone to those auditions," Hester said. "It all worked out in that respect."

ACU now can say it has theater alums in "Lion King" shows - a national tour and Ben Jeffrey as a warthog named Pumbaa in "The Lion King" on Broadway.

The festival returns with two classics. These will be the 40th and 41st works of Shakespeare to be presented over the 28-year history of the festival.

Once held later in the summer, the festival more or less coincides with the annual summer musical at the Paramount Theatre. Often, the shows share actors.

Hester said two students are doing that this year. They are in "Love's Labour's Lost" and "Sweeney Todd." The Shakespeare is being rehearsed during the day while the Paramount production rehearses at night. The festival is a week early this year to accommodate the sharing.

The actors are C.J. Rosano (Moth) and Ryan Chu, who has the role of King of Navarre in the Shakespeare play.

Chu is Anthony in "Sweeney Todd." Rosano is in the ensemble, though with key moments of his own.

Why Shakespeare is important

Hester, of course, believes doing Shakespeare is vital for a student actor. ACU students fill roles in both shows.

"It's a training ground for any work that you can do," he said. He likens Shakespeare to ballet, which is essential to all dance.

"You need that great basis," he said. "Learning how to speak verse is important" for an aspiring actor or someone who wants to teach.

Shakespeare also brings a spotlight to humanity, Hester said.

"There's something that's so revealing in every Shakespeare play," he said. Even in his lighter works, such as the two on stage this weekend.

"They both have strong messages," he said. "'Love's Labour's Lost' reminds us what it means to take an oath, what it means to follow through on a promise. What is love? Is it just this physical reaction to another person or is there a commitment that's involved?

"All of that is wrapped into a lot of hilarity."

Finally, he said, Shakespeare is an equalizer. It's for everyone to explore.

He recalled directing "Hamlet" years ago and a woman in the audience. who may have been homeless, commenting to him, "OK, that girl had better watch out for that Hamlet because I think he's up to no good with her."

Hester laughed.

"Everyone was getting it," he said.

That has been the goal for Shakespeare events, such as Shakespeare in the Park in New York City, which began in 1990. Bring all sorts of people together to enjoy theater.

Shaking it up

Why put "Labour" and "Shrew" together?

Hester said that examining the mood of the nation, "People needed a laugh. We decided to do comedies."

"Love's Labour's Lost" incorporates pop music into the performance, some of the long verses by Berowen, for example, becoming song.

The setting is the five-year reunion of the Class of 2018.

In this work, the king and three friends, including Berowne, vow to avoid women. However, they are hosts to four women. This presents a formidable challenge to their intentions.

Costumes by Hester's wife, Donna, are more contemporary and realistic, including the stereotyped big bellied deputy.

"The Taming of the Shrew" is about a group of actors deciding to do "Shrew" for the Rockport Shakespeare Festival, Thus, it has a more Renaissance feel.

Varner said his show is high comedy because this troupe is doing the show while traveling across the country, often without the actors they need. Multiple roles are required.

"In the beginning, they introduce the audience to the group, so the audience becomes a part of it. It's a fun frolic all the way through the show," he said. "We're pretty honest with Shakespeare in the way we do it, but we do lean toward the comedy."

Varner has a deep history in Shakespeare, going back to his first production in eighth grade. He was production manager for the Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival for 14 years, and has been involved in similar festivals in New Orleans and Edmond, Okla.

What he enjoys are the interpretations. Few are just alike.

"It can be a whole different show," he said. That includes doing the same show again. "That is what I think is the most fun about it.

"You don't know what life it's going to take up."

Putting in the effort

The two productions will share a stage and the design framework but look totally different.

An example of the effort that goes into four performances is the 311 cues by lighting designer Josh Hervye alone for "Love's Labour's Lost,

Hester's show features songs by Michael Friedman, thus adding Christopher Hollingsworth to the production staff as vocal director.

"What has been enjoyable is seeing the extreme use of Shakespearian style in the text and straight up rock style in terms of the delivery of the music," Hollingsworth said.

He was not sure about it working together, but said it has. The classic text and modern music work well together, he said.

"I wasn't sure how this works, but it works," he said. "What is engaging is the use of different pop-rock styles within the show to catch that sense of ingenuity."

While Hester emphasized the acting education, Hollingsworth said actors learn how to take care of their voices with multiple shows going on.

"It's a great opportunity to learn about vocal health," he said.

Summer productions are different, the directors agreed.

"There definitely is a different rhythm when you do it in rep," he said, with Varner nodding.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Did you miss me? Shakespeare back in town for weekend festival