1. MUCH ADO ABOUT EVERYTHING
THEA 1331
Egging
Group 6:
Blake Hutto
Johnny Huynh
Lisa Nguyen
Bao Pham

2. INTRODUCTION
The production of a play does not arise spontaneously, for it
requires the development of various design and production
elements. These essential components include the costumes
worn, the set design, and the lights as well as the actions of
the director. Together, they constitute an overall work that is
open to viewers for interpretation, and in this way, they also
act as a collective medium for individuals’ enjoyment and
imagination.
Therefore, in order to investigate the significance behind each of
these components, we will explore the depth of detail and
thought that is dedicated to each aspect and how they are
orchestrated to produce a final product for William
Shakespeare’s renown work, Much About Nothing.

3. DIRECTOR
However, no matter how magnificent the individual qualities of a play
may be, these elements are worthless if they are not organized into a
cohesive and coordinated play. The director takes on the challenge of
orchestrating the production by embodying the spine through the
development of the directorial concept. In the case, of Much Ado About
Nothing, our play of interest, the spine concerns love, marriage, and
happiness, and these themes will be enunciated though the collective
medium of all of the other elements of the play, including lights,
costumes, and set design.

4. SPINE
Just as the term implies, the spine
acts as the backbone of the
production, as it encompasses
the theme(s) and main action of
the play. In this production, the
spine delineates the significance
of love, marriage and happiness
in society as well as in the lives of
individuals, as the characters of
Much Ado About Nothing
demonstrated.

5. DIRECTORIAL APPROACH
Though love, marriage, and happiness all remain prominent aspects
of society today, their importance to the livelihood of individuals
were still stressed more during the past than they are today.
Therefore to better understand the weight of these themes, a
traditional approach to directing will be adopted for this play.

6. SCRIPT
Given that a traditional approach will be
used, the script of the play will thus
closely follow the style and dialogue
of Shakespeare’s original play. In this
way, The audience will be granted
with a more thorough understanding
of the time period in which the events
of the play take place (16th Century).

7. STYLE
The style would therefore be characteristic of allegory, as all of
the characters possess distinct personalities and
circumstances that represent the different facets of society,
allowing members from each group to be able to sympathize
with the characters. For example, even Beatrice and Benedick
found greater happiness though falling in love with each other
despite their initial stubbornness and resilience against the
idea of marriage. This irony in the story coupled with the
allegorical style of play would in turn make the themes that
much more prominent in the minds of the audience.

8. CASTING
However, without the actors and actresses to deliver
these messages, the audience will remain ignorant
of the full depth behind each theme. This is
especially true in the casting of Hero, as her
character/personality embodies all three themes of
love, happiness, and marriage, making her the
ruling metaphor that conveys these messages to
the audience.
Thus, the actors and actresses for this production of
Much Ado About Nothing will be casted as follows:

9. Beatrice- Kiara Feliciano
Benedick- Kyle Downing
Hero- Susie Parr
Claudio- David Clayborn
Don Pedro-David Huynh
Don John- Kirk Ellis
Leonato- Michael Thatcher
Margaret- Sara Ornealas
Ursula- Jacquie Alberto
Borachio- Andrew Garrett
Conrad- Crash Buist
Dogberry- Billy Reed
Verges- Parke Fech
Balthasar- Thomas Adkinson
Antonio- Tom Conry

10.  COSTUME DESIGN
- ORIGIN AND EXPLANATION
• I N A D D I T I O N , G I V E N T H A T T H E L O C A T I O N O F T H E
P L A Y I S I N M E S S I N A , I T A L Y D U R I N G T H E 1 6 T H
C E N T U R Y , T H E C O S T U M E S O F T H E A C T O R S A N D
A C T R E S S E S S H O U L D R E F L E C T T H E C U L T U R E A S
W E L L A S T H E T I M E P E R I O D O F T H I S E R A .
• D U R I N G T H I S T I M E P E R I O D , O N L Y T H E R I C H A N D
T H E N O B I L I T Y W E R E A B L E T O A F F O R D D Y E D
C L O T H I N G , W H I C H I S W H Y P U R P L E A S W E L L A S
A N Y O T H E R D A R K C O L O R S I N G E N E R A L W E R E S O
E X C L U S I V E . T H I S I S P A R T L Y D U E T O T H E F A C T
T H A T T H E P R O D U C T I O N O F S U C H D A R K H U E S
R E Q U I R E D M U L T I P L E D Y E S , U N L I K E T H E M O R E
I N E X P E N S I V E P R I M A R Y C O L O R D Y E S T H A T A R E
C H A R A C T E R I S T I C O F T H E P L E B E I A N A N D L O W E R
C L A S S E S .

11.  COSTUME DESIGN
- WOMEN’S CLOTHING
• During this time period, the majority
of women’s clothing and design
involved long skirted dresses that
varied in the cloth
type, color, patterns, and layers.
The majority of the clothes were
tailor fitted an thus unique to each
individual.
• The costumes featured in this
production of Much Ado About
Nothing will in turn be unique to
each individual in order to reflect not
only the social standing of each
character but to also offer insight
into their personalities.
• In addition, the colors and style of
the females’ costumes will
complement that of their male soul
mates, delineating the significance
of marriage, love, and happiness in
this play.

12.  COSTUME DESIGN
- MEN’S CLOTHING
• The clothes of noblemen
during this era depended
on whether or not he
was carrying a weapon.
• For soldiers, the clothing
of choice would be thin
and light. There would
also be no coat to weigh
you down if you were to
ever engage in combat.
A fashionable cape may
also be worn to exude a
certain degree of
grandeur that some
characters may possess.

13.  COSTUME DESIGN
- MALE CHARACTERS
• Benedick – His character is known for his witty comments
against Beatrice, which is used as a humorous device in the
play. His outfit would be that of a soldiers’ with primary colors
of purple and secondary colors of green and yellow. This will
give him the look of a jester as well as of a soldier but not yet
a gentleman.
• Claudio – He is the “prince” for Hero. His character is that of a
loyal soldier to Don Pedro yet he is too shy to try and woo
Hero himself. His outfit would be that of a soldiers’ with a
primary color of royal blue in addition to white as a secondary
color. He would also have a red cape to distinguish himself
from Benedick.

14.  COSTUME DESIGN
- MALE CHARACTERS (CONTINUED)
• Don Pedro – His character is that of a prince but more likely in his
middle ages. He is a soldier and commands Claudio and
Benedick, so like them, he would also sport a soldier’s uniform. His
outfit would instantly delineate his standing as a man from a rich
family. His costume would thus feature primary colors such as purple
with a gold coat and accents of dark green.
• Don John – He is the illegitimate brother to Don Pedro. He is the
main antagonist in the play. He is mostly envious of his brother’s
social status even though he is of the same father. His outfit would
be similar to Don Pedro except more worn to show that even though
he is related to Don Pedro he is of lower rank. His costume’s primary
colors would be dark blue or green with mostly red accents.

15.  COSTUME DESIGN
- FEMALE CHARACTERS
• Hero – Her character is mostly innocent, and she can be considered
as the princess of the play. She is a daughter of a noble, so it can be
assummed that her personality and mannerisms are very lady-like.
Her outfit would be a dress long enough to cover her feet and would
also include a corset to give her a desirable figure. Her costume
would feature primary colors of white and blue, and would have
embroidery in dark blue.
• Beatrice – Even though she was most likely raised similarly to
Hero, she possesses a much more assertive personality, as
demonstrated through the witty comments she exchanges with
Benedick. As the niece of Leonato, her outfit would be similar to
Hero’s but would incorporate different aspects such as a headdress
or a veil. Her outfit’s primary colors would be green and yellow with
ascents of purple embroidery.

16.  COSTUME DESIGN
- MINOR CHARACTERS
• Margaret – She is one of Hero’s serving women. Being of
lower class, her outfit would be a dress similar to that of a
maid but with brown as a primary color and white sleeves
and apron.
• Conrad, Dogberry, and Verges – They are guards/soldiers so
they would all have similar outfits with the exception of
Conrad, who works with Don John. His color scheme would
therefore be similar to that of Don John. As for Dogberry and
Verges, they would have identical outfits since they are
guards of Messina and would thus wear the sameuniform
featuring the colors of their lord.
• Antonio – He is the brother to Leonato and the father of
Beatrice. His outfit would be the same as Leonato’s.
• Blathasar – He is a waiting-man in Leonato’s house and is a
musician. In this time period he could be probably seen as a
bard. His primary color would be pale green.
• Ursula – She is one of Hero’s ladies in waiting, so her outfit
would be similar to Margaret’s. However, her outfit would
incorporate more of Hero’s color scheme.

18. SCENERY
Given that the events of the play take place in the city of
Messina, Italy, also known as the door of Sicily, the stage would be
set upon a Roman Catholic style building to establish the home of
Leonato as the primary setting.
Columns and arcs would be set up to display the time period of the play
during the 16th century.
Fake candles would be used to show the type of lighting for that time
period.
The stage would probably be set upon a Thrust Theatre to allow for
greater flexibility in manipulating the background. The thrust stage
would therefore be very sufficient in depicting both outdoor and
indoor scenes and facilitate the transition between these scenes.

19. SCENERY (CONTINUED)
The outdoor scenes could be viewed using lots of fake bushes
and small, garden, architectural arches. A fake fountain would
be placed in the middle of the garden, to simulate the
sensation of being in a real garden from that time.
To create the scene for the marriage ceremony, columns and
arches could be created to replicate the inside of churches
with a background painting of a window picture of Jesus
Christ.

20. SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special effects can be effective during scenes that show extreme
emotions. It exaggerates the emotions and amplifies the mood of the
scene.
Background music from an orchestra or perhaps visual effects are all
special effects that can be used.
For this play, a replica fountain with spouting water can be used during
the garden scene. Near the fountain, a specially made vine bush will
also be present for the scene where Benedick and Beatrice hid to
eavesdrop on their friends’ conversation.
A pit orchestra can used as special effects for each scene to incite the
appropriate mood for the audience.

21. STYLE
Realistic or Non-realistic?
Much Ado About Nothing would be generalized as a Realistic
play. The entire play could be based on actual events that
Shakespeare witnessed himself and composed the entire play
off it.
The set of the play would be realistic and based off of
Renaissance Time during around the 16th century and would
therefore adopt a more traditional style.

22. MOOD SETUP
Much Ado About Nothing has different mood styles. Each mood depends on how
each scene is played and what mood is trying to be displayed.
Sound, lighting and visuals can guide the audience and allow the viewers to
comprehend what mood is being presented.
For example, the first wedding scene would be dramatic and shocking. Thus
switching from light to dark lighting would explain the situation, along with the
actor’s acting.
The wedding dance near the end would also have bright lighting and cheery
music to symbolize the happiness and joy of that moment.
Hero would be much more pale as a character to personify her character as a
virgin in a visionary persona.

24. REVEAL SHAPES AND FORMS AND FOCUS AND
COMPOSITION
Depending on where you put the lights, you can make objects
appear either three-dimensional or two-dimensional.
Also, the focus is a very important part of the lighting as it directs
where the audience’s attention will be. The figure below
demonstrates how a spot light can be used. For the purpose
of this play, a spotlight will be utilized similarly in order to
better elucidate the facial expressions of the characters and
provide shadowing, which is especially important during the
scenes involving great emotion and dramatization. This would
include Claudio’s public humiliation of Hero at their first
wedding ceremony among other scenes.

25. ASSIST IN CREATING MOOD AND REINFORCING
STYLE
Lighting can really help set the mood that people are feeling and reinforce the
style as well as establish contrast.
For most of this play, the stage will be lit with normal, warm, and bright color
lights to show a happy comedy where the main characters fall in love and get
married (shown on left).
However for more serious scenes, darker, more macabre lights will be used.
Examples of such scenes include the time after Claudio rejects Hero at the
wedding, accusing her of infidelity, as well as the time of darkness when Hero
is supposedly “dead”(shown on right).

26. ESTABLISH TIME, PLACE AND
RHYTHM
By manipulating its color, shade, and intensity, lighting can suggest
time, place, and rhythm. For example the morning, evening, and
sunset and will all have different kinds of lighting. Lighting can
easily help establish what season and time of day during which
the events of the play are occurring.
Reinforce the Central Visual
Image and Establish Visual
Information
The wrong lighting can distort and destroy a play. The light designer
is the person who will show the audience where to focus. This
person can break a play if he makes the audience focus on the
wrong things.

27. Theme: Love
The theme of love in Much Ado About Nothing can be shown through
the lighting. For example, suggestive colors such as red and pink
and also very bright lights can help enunciate this theme during the
appropriate scenes.
Theme: Marriage
The theme of marriage in Much Ado About Nothing can be shown
through lighting. Marriage is a very special time for two people.
Lighting can show the importance of these two people by having the
spot lights on them. It is also a time for purity which is resembled by
white, and there could thus be a lot of white lights and candles.
Theme: Happiness
The theme of happiness in Much Ado About Nothing can also be shown
through lighting. Happiness is a time for smiling and brightness. You
can bring attention to the characters’ smiles and elated facial
expressions via the use of bright and warm colors with lighting.

28. CONCLUSION
It can be easy to forget the degree of
complexity and work that goes into the
development of a play. However, knowing of
each of these individual elements grants a
greater sense of appreciation for a given
production as well as enriches the individual
theater experience, as this rendition of
Much Ado About Nothing has demonstrated.