At St. Mary School in Pine Bluff, Holy Family Homeschool students have been busy rehearsing Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, which follows two sets of identical twins in a series of humorous misidentifications.
Beginning their work in January, the actors are putting the final touches on their performance in preparation for the show’s premiere the last weekend of April.
The cast
In this year’s production, there are 19 students acting and three Holy Family Homeschool alumni helping backstage.
The play is under the direction of Renee Nelson, a parishioner of St. Mary Oratory in Rockford, Ill., who is a wife, stay-at-home homeschooling mother of nine, and holds a B.A. in drama from the University of Dallas.
Some homeschool students travel to rehearsal in Pine Bluff from as far north as Baraboo and as far south as New Glarus.
Other students travel from Lodi, Cottage Grove, and surrounding parts of the Madison area.
For the student actors, the annual Holy Family Homeschool play serves as a way for “people of all different ages to come together,” said Chloe, a senior.
Chloe is playing the role of Adriana, wife of Antipholus of Ephesus.
Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors is her third play and she said, “Everyone is just very kind, and we’re all Catholic. . . It’s a great environment to be in.”
About her role, Chloe said, “Adriana is married to Antipholus of Ephesus. There’s a lot of confusion because she thinks that her husband is cheating on her. There’s all this confusion and she ends up talking to the wrong Antipholus and accusing him of cheating. It’s a whole mess, but it’s hysterical.”
Another senior, Thomas, is in his fourth play with other students in the Holy Family Homeschool co-op, and he has been cast as Dromio of Ephesus.
Thomas said, “This is a great way to spend time with people because it gets the creative juices flowing. We have a lot of great connections, some funny moments, and it allows us to express ourselves. To be actors, acting, is a blast!”
“We also get together outside of rehearsals. Sometimes we practice lines with each other when we’re at each other’s house,” he added.
The 18 fellow cast members share that excitement and enthusiasm. Many of them are returning actors, but there are a few new freshman faces, too.
Cecilia, who is a junior, said that seeing familiar faces and meeting new students are what make participating in the plays fun.
She said, “There are several people who have been acting since middle school and I’ve been able to act with them my whole career.”
Besides the weekly Friday rehearsal, Cecilia said that it’s not uncommon for homeschool students to have classes together.
She said, “I have class with one of the girls who’s also in the play. We get together twice a week for school. Everyone else, I see at other events. . . It’s cool to have classes [outside] rehearsal and then we can all hang out.”
About the comedy
Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors is a misadventure of hilarious proportions.
The play is set in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, where Antipholus of Syracuse and his bondsman, Dromio of Syracuse, are looking for their long-lost identical twin brothers.
Separated at birth in a sea wreck, Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse were raised by their father. Now grown, they’ve left Syracuse to search for their identical twins who were raised by their mother.
Unbeknownst to them, they are looking for identical twins of the same name — Antipholus of Ephesus and his bondsman, Dromio of Ephesus.
When the brothers arrive in Ephesus, there is an almost immediate confusion of the identical twins and chaos ensues.
Holy Family Homeschool is premiering Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors on Friday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m.
The show continues on Saturday, April 27, at 6:30 p.m., and ends on Sunday, April 28, at 2 p.m.
The show is performed at Belleville High School, located at 635 W. Church St., Belleville.
Tickets are available at the door for five dollars. Buy tickets online by visiting www.showtix4u.com/event-details/81968.