Much Ado About Nothing

The new Artistic Director

Was a nut, okay?

A nut

She wasn’t going to be our permanent Artistic Director

Just the transition person

Because nobody had really planned

On Samantha leaving

Then the new AD—Cara—decides that she wants to be more than temporary

So she decides she’s going to make as much money as possible

In the year that she’s at the theater

And what makes more money

Than Shakespeare?

So we do a whole season of Shakespeare

You want to hear a person groan

On cue?

Tell them you’re doing five Shakespeare plays

In a row

Trust me

They’ll groan

It’s not that we all hate Shakespeare

It’s that this was 2000

And people were Shakespeare-ed out

Everywhere you went in this town

There was Shakespeare

And let’s face it, the guy didn’t write a thousand plays

So at one point

There were three different Tempests

Running simultaneously

It was just…unnecessary

The Orpheus opened that season with Much Ado About Nothing

And, as it turns out, there was a smaller production running

At the same time

I brought that up to Cara

That we’d be running at the same time

As another production in town

And, of course, she laughed it off

Said it was an ‘independent’ production

And what was I worried about?

Cara was very big-city

Dismissive, not my favorite
Not that I had many favorites

An Artistic Director's job
Is to remind everybody
How important it is
To have an Artistic Director

I could have taken or left any of them
Even the ones I didn't know

Anyway, their show opened before ours did

So I went one night to check it out

It was…sort of embarrassing

Not the show, the show was—

What was embarrassing

Was the way they acted

When I showed up

A member of the elite
Orpheus Theater Acting Company

They acted like I was royalty

So I sat down
I watched the show
And I, uh...

I was moved

Really moved

It was a beautiful production

Funny, charming, light--

Just perfect

It wasn't the most elaborate or expensive thing
I've ever seen
But it didn't really need to be

Sometimes you don't need all the trimmings
You know?

Sometimes you just need the turkey

I went back to Cara
And asked her to take me out of Much Ado


I couldn't be in it
Not after I saw the other one

She was mad
Had me sit out
The rest of the Shakespeare season

Which ended up being
The rest of her season

I can't say I was all that upset about it

As an actress, you always think you can do better
Be better
Improve upon a, a--play
A classic work

But the truth is
Sometimes you know you can't
And when you know you can't
You shouldn't try

The trouble is
When you feel that way
It usually means...

You're done

It usually means
You're out of ideas

And when you're out of ideas
You may as well take up bowling

So did I leave the company?

No

But in my mind, I did

From that point on
All I was doing
Was bowling
In my mind