“It’s Girls’ Night!”
April 15
When I arrived at the auditorium, several ensemble members were already gathered and preparing for the night ahead. As I entered alone—slightly ahead of my co-facilitator, Fisher-Grant—one participant welcomed me with a big smile and a cheerful, “It’s girls’ night!”
Before we got started, ensemble members filled us in on a developing scheduling conflict: some participants are now being asked to choose between attending choir or Shakespeare, which run at the same time. One ensemble member has officially stepped away from the group as a result, while others may still be weighing their options. With this shift in availability, Kyle offered to step into the role of Don Pedro for now, and the group began brainstorming how we might reconfigure casting to keep everything on track.
After our usual check-in and opening ring—rituals that help us settle into the shared work of the evening—we picked up rehearsal with Act 2, Scene 1: the masked ball and dance scene. This is one of the most joyful and chaotic parts of Much Ado About Nothing, and our ensemble brought great energy to it. There was a suggestion from one participant to break up the “soul train line” a bit earlier in the choreography—a fun and unexpected staging idea that we haven’t decided on yet, but may try out in the coming weeks.
The energy stayed high as we moved into the “gossip” scenes—moments where characters are tricked into overhearing staged conversations about love. I jumped in as Ursula opposite one of our ensemble members playing Hero, and we experimented with how Beatrice might sneak and hide behind trees and flats. The laughter from the group told us we were on the right track.
Next, we worked on the Dogberry and Watch scenes, where Shakespeare’s comedic constables try (and often fail) to uncover a villainous plot. We staged the scene with a curtain closure and added a bit of physical humor when Verges got “stuck” in the curtain before her entrance.
As we near our performance, we’re also beginning to think about production logistics. We’ll need to ask about adjusting the stage lights to ensure visibility during our show, and we’re continuing to finalize casting. One ensemble member expressed interest in playing both a watchman and Don John, while another agreed to take on the role of Margaret and will also serve as the messenger. We’ll be doing a full headcount soon to determine where we might still need support, and the group voiced their support for bringing in additional facilitators to cover any smaller roles.
We wrapped up the evening just before 8:00 p.m., pausing to applaud everyone who had stepped into new characters or tried something new for the first time. Before we left, we raised the closing ring—bookending the evening with the same shared intention and community that always brings us back.