Regis Jesuit’s performance of Much Ado About Nothing, a Shakespearean comedy that centers on the silly mistakes humans make, is a show like nothing anyone has seen before, creating an entirely new world for the same beloved stories and characters of the original play. How did these creative ideas come to be? The magic comes from the minds of Regis Jesuit’s own students.

Instead of keeping the original setting of the play, the Regis Jesuit theatre community put a creative twist on it, changing the setting from Italy during Shakespearean times to 1940s New York with a Film Noir (black and white) style.

Another thing that makes the play unique is that it is entirely student-run. Students voted for leaders to make the decisions about the play and how they want to produce it, the students picked the play, and they even chose their inspirations for how they want to present Shakespeare’s work.

Theatre is Regis Jesuit’s biggest club with over 100 people, a large percentage of whom won’t even make an appearance on stage. Although actors are a big part, there are so many other roles besides acting when putting on a show. There are people who build sets, students in charge of tech, a group who does sound and music, individuals that work on costumes, and even a person assigned to be the expert on the 1940s to make sure the play stays historically accurate.

Co-president of the theater club, Soren Freund ‘22, will be playing Friar Francis. His leadership role also makes him very involved in the play’s production and knows well the diversity of skills needed to put on the play.

“There is a place in the theater club for anyone who wants to join,” Freund said.

The large size of the club is quite impressive, too, considering how time-consuming the commitment to theater is. Those working on the play spend several hours per week outside of school rehearsing, and the commitment increases as the play’s debut creeps closer.

Theatre Club isn’t the only group involved in putting on the play; many other parts of campus contribute to the production, too. The Robotics Club helps make sets for the play, Graphic Design class makes posters for publicity, some art classes get the opportunity to help paint the set, and the Pit Band plays live music, something rarely done at other schools.

When they aren’t devoting all their energy to the play, some theatre club members turn their attention to creating the Regis Jesuit Zecond Floor Haunted House in time for Halloween, which spooked students, staff, and families in the Z Theatre from October 27th through 29th.

With the help of over 100 club members over the course of four months and many hours of work, Much Ado About Nothing premiered October 15th to delighted audiences. It ran through the 24th. Keep your eyes out for the next big thing from our fearless thespians.