“Comedy of Errors” wraps in a reimagined Brunelle Theater
PHOTO: From left to right, Jackie Wallis as Dromio of Syracuse, Morgan Hendrix-Chupa as Antiphilous of Syracuse, Truman Durem as Antipholus of Ephesus, and Wren Arellano-Calderon as Dromio of Ephesus (Courtesy: Chad Fisk).
By Lewis Herring-Tillman and Mattias RowenBale,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
After two weekends and a total of six shows, Davis High theatre has closed its fall play, Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors,” signaling a return to indoor theater and larger live audiences.
“I miss[ed] being on the Brunelle stage,” DHS senior and actor Wren Arellano-Calderon said. “I was in Clue before the pandemic, and I had no idea that would be my last time in the theater for two years.”
Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” is known for being memorable, funny and also occasionally confounding, with its myriad of plotlines and double sets of twins. Separated at birth, Antipholus and his slave Dromeo adopt the same names, living their lives entirely unaware of their respective twins.
When they finally do encounter each other, hijincks ensue.
DHS sophomore Truman Durem plays Antipholus of Ephesus. “He’s an interesting character because he pretends that he’s relaxed and down-to-earth… and then he goes from that to violent and evil,” Durem said.
This is Durem’s first DHS theatre production, although he has been acting for years.
“Working with the people, there’s just so many talented people working here and they all know exactly what they’re doing and how a scene should go,” Durem said.
Among the challenges the actors faced was trying to find a way to appeal Shakespeare to younger viewers.
“A lot of the time, the audience is not going to get the joke, because of that language barrier,” said DHS senior Jackie Wallis, who played Dromio of Syracuse.
In addition, DHS theatre instituted a 72-hour COVID test requirement, citing current district policies which prevented them from mandating vaccination.
“We don’t ask for it, but they can show it to us, which is weird,” Wallis said. “Essentially, we can’t advertise it.”
Apart from the various COVID-19 restrictions, the show was also made unique by its set design. Audience members were placed onstage along with the actors as opposed to in the regular Brunelle seating, meaning at times actors were less than a foot away from the audience.
Additionally, much of the set itself was recycled. “Sometimes theatre can be pretty wasteful,” director Chad Fisk said. “We found ways to repurpose other items… there are only two non-recycled items in our set.”
According to Fisk, now that the shows are over, the set pieces may be sent to another production in Auburn.
