Will GfellerTHEA 130- Ferrell Comedy of Errors Review

Between November 5 and November 9, the SUNY Geneseo Department of Theatre and Dance presented the Shakespearian face Comedy of Errors., directed by Dr. Randy Barbara Kaplan. I would consider the show successful from both a performance and technical aspect, because the show was well-acted as well as visually beautiful.

The show was presented in the Alice Austin theatre on the Geneseo campus; it is a proscenium theatre, with a modified American seating style. The props utilized, while minimal, were well crafted and visually appealing. A majority of the props used in the show were hand props, such as the tall scythes the dancing ensemble used as the Duke’s guards. Another form of props used were scene props, such as the various chairs that were present on stage, and moved around by the dancing ensemble. Another type of scene prop were the elaborate apple tree designs that were held up by the dancing ensemble; they were pieces of paper and fabric in beautiful colored hues that were carried by the dancers to symbolize a garden setting.

The production also featured a number of beautiful two-dimensional scenery. The stage was filled with several feet high flats, decorated and painted in beautiful yellow and blue tones to help establish the setting of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The flats towered over the cast members, and were elaborately detailed and quite beautiful. The flat closest to center staged featured a sliding door and a platform (a piece of three dimensional scenery). Hanging behind the complicated scenery was a cyclorama onto which bright colors and even fireworks were projected to help establish and modify the mood of the evening.

Comedy of Errors, as presented by the students of SUNY Geneseo, was both an artisically and visually satisfying production. The scenic and prop design were elaborate and helped to truly immerse the audience in the world created.