Shakespeare steals a chuckle with 'Comedie of Errors'

<p>Shakespeare's farcical best surfaces this spring in the ASU Herberger MainStage Theatre presentation of “The Comedie of Errors.” Seven performances run from March 30 to April 7 at the Paul V. Galvin Playhouse on the ASU Tempe campus. A special 10 a.m. performance takes place April 3 for high school students from across the Valley.</p><separator></separator><p><img src="http://www.asu.edu/news/stories/200703/200703_images/20070328_Errors.jp…; alt hspace="5" vspace="5" width="432" height="288" align="right">The play's setting is the eastern Mediterranean city of Ephesus, which in ancient times had a reputation for being a diverse port of lively merchants and travelers. This backdrop provides the right situation for the characters to become wittily entangled in the webs of their relationships. Audiences can find amusement in the antics of master's degree in fine arts performance students as they break the fourth wall and engage spectators with their wit.</p><separator></separator><p>“Comedy is certainly much more difficult to pull off than tragedy,” says director Antonio Ocampo-Guzman, an assistant professor in the ASU Herberger College School of Theatre and Film. “It challenges the players to find the purest form of delight and presence. All of the students in the play have had training in Shakespearean text and aim to deliver the difficult language and ‘clowning' with ease.”</p><separator></separator><p>Ocampo-Guzman has been a member of the renowned Shakesepeare &amp; Co, in Lenox, Mass., since 1993. He teaches and directs for School of Theatre and Film master's performance students.</p><separator></separator><p>The play contains bawdy Shakespearean humor and poetry. Tickets range in price from $7 to $22 and are available online at <a href="http://mainstage.asu.edu/">http://mainstage.asu.edu </a> or through the Herberger College box office by calling (480) 965-6447. Show times are 7:30 p.m., March 30-31 and April 4-7, and 2 p.m., April 1. For additional information about attending the special April 3 performance for high school students, contact the School of Theatre and Film at (480) 965-5337.</p>