Independent Shakespeare Co.'s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Opens Tonight

This summer, visit the idyllic Mediterranean countryside as INDEPENDENT SHAKESPEARE CO. brings you to the end of WWII as it presents its take one of Shakespeare's most loved comedies, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, directed by Jeffrey Wienckowski. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING began previews at THE GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL on Thursday, July 30 and will open tonight, August 8 at 7:00pm and perform through Sunday, August 30 at Old Zoo in Griffith Park. All ISC Summer Shakespeare productions are FREE to the public! MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will follow ROMEO & JULIET, currently playing through July 26. ISC is the 2015 recipient of the LA Drama Critics Circle's highest honor, the Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theater, and a 2015 recipient of a grant award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

It is the summer of 1945 in Messina. We find Don Pedro and his battalion enjoying a much-needed respite in Leonato's bomb-riddled villa. While awaiting the nuptials of Claudio and Hero, Don Pedro and his men amuse themselves by playing Cupid between Beatrice, Hero's witty and sharp-tongued cousin, and confirmed bachelor-for-life Benedick. As the wine flows in Leonato's villa, discord emerges, judgment is clouded, and passions are set ablaze by the most powerful intoxicant of all: love.

Comments director Jeffrey Wienckowski, "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will fill the Park with laughter, music and dancing. But in this roaring party there is a sudden turn where things get very real and very dark. It is this dichotomy that allows clownish physical comedy to live right along side very real dramatic tension. This works perfectly with ISCs trademark spontaneous style that always expertly walks that line between comedy and drama. The play will feature music of the 1940s as well as original compositions by Chris Porter. The 1940s gives an important backdrop of battle to the play, and it also instills a sense of nostalgia and romance. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is a very human story about the fallibility of lovesick hearts."

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST

JEFFREY WIENCKOWSKI (Director) previously directed Independent Shakespeare Co.'s award-winning production of Solemn Mockeries, starring David Melville. Jeffrey has been professionally directing in Southern California for fifteen years, working with The La Jolla Playhouse, East-West Players, San Diego's Old Globe, the Road Theatre Company and Chalk Repertory Theatre. He is the founder and artistic director of the Sons of Beckett Theatre Company, where he directed Waiting for Godot, a Vaudeville version of Oedipus the King and the West Coast premiere of Gao Xingjian's The Other Shore. He also created and directed the original play #Hashtag for the Hollywood Fringe Festival and co-directedGallery Secrets, a site specific play celebrating the Centennial of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Jeffrey also directed Bright Swords, a one-man show about Ira Aldridge, the first black actor to play Othello in London, which played at the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival and will have two performances at Independent Studio as part of the indoor offerings of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Jeffrey holds an MFA in Directing from UC San Diego where he studied under Darko Tresnjak, Les Waters, Christopher Ashley, Gabor Tompa, and Dominique Serrand. He currently teaches and directs theatre at Antelope Valley College and College of the Canyons.

The cast of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will feature: Jose Acain, Richard Azurdia, Danny Brown, Danny Campbell, Melissa Chalsma, Joseph Culliton, Thomas Ehas, William Elsman, André Martin, David Melville, Xavi Moreno, Marcelo Olivas, Evan Lewis Smith, Bernadette Sullivan, Napoleon Tavale and Erwin Tuazon.

Season Production Design is by Caitlin Lainoff. Season Lighting Design is by Bosco Flanagan. Costume Design by Amanda Lee.

SCHEDULE AND PRICING

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will preview on Thursday, July 30 at 7:00pm and will open on Saturday, August 8 at 7:00pm and perform through Sunday, August 30 at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park. All ISC Summer Shakespeare productions are FREE to the public.