The Greenhill Theater Department brought audience members into a world of Deep South accents, Wild-West inspired costumes and a set that mirrored old Hollywood Westerns in their April production of “Much Ado About Nothing.”  

For nine seniors who were actors and members of the crew, the play marked the end of their Greenhill theater careers. 

“I think it was really bittersweet because it is hard to say goodbye to this program that has given me so much,” senior Quinn Graves said. “I am really grateful for all the experiences and memories I have made in Greenhill theater.” 

Preparations 

The play followed the main storyline as the original Shakespeare production. The Greenhill production, however, was set in West Texas during the late 1800s. 

“It’s been a long few months of dialect coaching, making sure we get the scenes to flow, and getting the ‘westerness’ vibe of the show,” said freshman Sidrah Tarpeh.  

To immerse audiences in the show, chairs were set around three-fourths of the stage. 

“They had us sitting almost inside, wrapping around the actual play, so it felt like you were in it, like you were a part of [the show],” Campus Store Assistant Manager Andrea Stoyle said.  

Two weeks before opening night, the cast and crew of “Much Ado About Nothing” had the opportunity to perform an excerpt of their show at the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest Arts Festival.  

“[At ISAS], we didn’t know the space,” said Upper School Drama instructor and Theater Director Valerie Hauss-Smith. “We were told we had a specific size of room to [perform] in, so our blocking had to be completely changed. It took us about a week to get ready.” 

Although the festival halted preparation for the full production, sophomore Sumedha Rapuri said the ISAS performance helped her practice her acting part for the real show. 

“I was able to get a taste of how the audience would react to our scenes.” Rapuri said. “So then from there, we were actually able to change things and make them funnier, make jokes more on point.”  

Following ISAS, the cast and crew participated in strenuous after-school rehearsals. This period – dubbed “Tech Week” – is the time where the technical theater crew, actors and directors all work together to rehearse the full production.  

“I think everyone in the play was working really, really hard,” sophomore Natalie Johnson said. “It’s really hard to be in the late end of the year when teachers piling up assignments. Getting home at 10 every day for a whole week is really hard, but I think they pulled through and made something really good.” 

Upper and Middle School Technical Theater teacher Will Turbyne said his students worked on the set for weeks.  

“There’s a lot of rough barnwood that the actors come into contact with,” Turbyne said. “The wood is smooth, safe wood, but we’ve painted it to look very rough and kind of rustic and old.”  

To many audience members, the set enhanced the show.   

“It was so good and way better than I could have imagined,” sophomore Nina Kaplinsky said. “The set and costumes came as a pleasant surprise; they were so elaborate and beautiful, it really put you into Messina, Texas.”  

Audience Reactions 

Since the play was held in the Studio Theater instead of Rose Hall, seating was limited. Because of this, the shows sold out quickly, forcing Hauss-Smith to set aside “no-show tickets.” If an audience member did not show up 10 minutes before the show, their tickets would be released to the public. 

“The show was sold out and we were very nervous about whether more people than we could seat would show up hoping for no-show tickets, but every night we were able to seat everybody that came, so we were very happy about that,” Hauss-Smith said. 

Those who had the opportunity to attend the show expressed positive reviews.  

“I thought it was really good,” said freshman Brielle Kommer. “The actors were amazing.”  

Sophomore Aydin Khan echoed this sentiment.  

“I loved getting to see some of my friends perform in their element and be able to showcase the efforts they’d been working on for the entire semester,” Khan said.  

The cast and crew of the play had positive experiences as well. They described how the months they spent with each other working on the play created a “family” environment and lifelong friendships. 

“I love the cast; I love the people who do theater,” sophomore Ella Costabile said. “They have been some of my biggest mentors and friends.”