Twelfth Night Auditions Set For Nov. 27

The English department at Southwestern is producing Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night as its annual play. Tryouts are Nov. 27, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving Break.

Twelfth Night is a comedy in which a girl must disguise herself as a male to be near the man she adores, only to be pursued by the woman that he loves.

“I’ll be looking for good acting,” says Renard Doneskey, director. “I specifically need guys to try out. Last time I did this play I had to cast several females as male characters. It was very ironic. Also, I need people who can act as well as sing.”

There are three full songs and several song snippets throughout the play. Doneskey has composed his own arrangements for them. They’ll be accompanied by strings, flute and possibly piano.

Right now, Doneskey plans to set the play in the time period it was written. The last play he directed was Shakespeare’s As You Like It. He had it set in the 1960s.

“I feel like this play has the potential to be one of the best plays I’ve ever directed,” says Doneskey. “I’ve done it once before and we did a good job, and this time I feel that we can do even better.”

Doneskey describes the play as one of Shakespeare’s most joyful, and urges people to tryout even if they feel like they can’t understand Shakespeare.

“It’s really much easier to understand Shakespeare when watching, or acting, rather than when just reading,” said Doneskey. “This is a way to introduce people to Shakespeare who may have never read it otherwise. I’m really looking forward to directing it.”

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