ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—Ouachita Baptist University’s Department of Theatre Arts will present Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Feb. 16 at 8 p.m., Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 18 at 4 p.m., Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 20 at 2:30 p.m. All showings will take place in Verser Theatre on Ouachita’s campus. The show is directed by Daniel Inouye, OBU assistant professor of theatre arts. Tickets are $6 each and may be purchased at www.obu.edu/finearts.
According to Inouye, Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare’s comedies, has been billed as having “a madcap plot that mixes the sweetness and silliness of love triangles, cross-dressing and pompous servants paired with the opulence and mystery of Persia.”
“We try to provide our students with a wide variety of styles and types of productions in order that they might gain a wide range of experience while here at OBU,” Inouye said. “Shakespeare is an important part of any actor’s development. I specifically chose Twelfth Night due to its humorous content and the challenges that it poses for our students and myself as a director.
“Working on Shakespeare is always challenging both to the director and the actors,” Inouye continued. “The focus on the understanding of the language and words is vital to a successful production.”
Inouye and the cast spent hours pouring over the script line-by-line to ensure that the whole cast understood each word and each moment.
“And this is only one part of the task when it comes to Shakespeare,” Inouye added. “Once the students know what is being said, they have to find a way to make it seem perfectly comprehensible to an entire audience within the performance.”
All tickets are $6 and may be purchased at www.obu.edu/finearts or by contacting the Jones Performing Arts Center Box Office weekdays from 2-5 p.m. Ouachita students receive one free ticket with their student ID. For more information, call the Box Office at (870) 245-5563 during box office business hours.
