Much Ado About Shakespeare

I signed myself up to be a chaperone on a field trip to BYU to watch their production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It was Ivory's class and a few others that were attending and it seemed like a nice opportunity to bond and watch a fun play.

Ivory has so many friends, I didn't expect that she would sit next to me during the play, but our bus dropped us off in the wrong place, so we were behind the main group and by the time we arrived, everyone was hustling into their seats, not worrying about who they were sitting by, and Ivory was next to me. So basically, she got stuck next to me, but I will take it.

The play was really fun. The actors did a great job and in general, I'm always impressed with plays such as these, because there are so many words to remember. And not just normal verbiage; it's Shakespeare verbiage. The BYU cast was really very good. And I liked the way they used the stage and the props. One scene with a barrel was especially funny. They were nice enough to pose at the end for pictures.

There is a boy in Ivory's class who happens to be the son of the lady who is one of the main directors. (Did you follow that?) So our school got a special question/answer session and a tour backstage. Things I thought were interesting: In Shakespeare's time, all the performers would be men. For this production (and all of her productions) she likes to keep the cast equal with male and female actors, so sometimes she switches roles around. I noticed the switch, but it didn't detract at all from the play. In Shakespeare's time, the stage is very close, so they moved the stage into the audience. When we toured in the back, there was so much room back there because that is where the actual stage is.

After the play, we went over to the Cougareat (if they even call it that anymore). It was so busy and crowded. I lost Ivory and couldn't find her for almost twenty minutes. When I did, they were finished with lunch and we just toured around the bookstore. It has changed a lot since I attended. They didn't have this fun play area back then. This is Camilla, Ivory's friend.

It was actually a really fun trip. I had a great group of girls. It is easy to be a chaperone when the kids are well behaved. And I'm glad I volunteered for this one.