Some comedic relief is coming to campus.
Northwestern’s theatre department will be producing “Love’s Labour’s Lost” in the coming weeks.
The Shakespearean play features four men who swear off women to focus on their studies, only to all fall in love a day later.
“In many ways, it’s a play about trying to live in balance between the pressures of academics and the need to maintain a good healthy social life. This is something every college student must learn to negotiate,” Director Dr. Robert Hubbard said.
Show times are scheduled for Oct. 3, 5, and 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Windmill Park downtown Orange City.
A special invitation is extended to Northwestern College students to attend the preview show at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1.
Hubbard said the audience can expect lots of joy and laughs, and as he put it, “We could all use a good laugh right now.”
The audience should also be on the lookout for several references to life in Orange City, including costume jokes and script alterations.
Junior Rachel Smart has enjoyed the challenge that Shakespeare provides.
“It’s like a puzzle, and slowly everything clicks into place,” she said.
The production was halted last year when students were sent home due to the pandemic, but the theatre department has taken this in stride and is ready to present the show with a few modifications.
“I was in the cast last semester when we tried to produce it for the first time, so I have enjoyed seeing two different casts take on these iconic characters,” junior Sierra Tumbleson said.
The show is set outdoors to provide the audience with adequate space to socially distance from one another.
Hubbard encouraged all those who attend to bring along lawn chairs, blankets and an adventurous spirit.
Not only has COVID-19 affected the casting of the play, but the cast will be wearing clear masks during their performance in order for the audience to see their expressions.
“COVID can’t stop the theatre department,” cast member Kitrick Fynaardt said.
With the performance being outdoors in downtown Orange City, Town Square Coffeehouse will be selling walking tacos before the show to create a festival-like atmosphere.
Although the production process is not without its hardships this year, the cast members and director have all thoroughly enjoyed the time they have spent together producing it.
“It’s such a good feeling to work on a show that’s harder and to take ownership of that hard work,” Smart said.
Smart also recalls a time in rehearsal when several cast members were on the floor laughing. Fynaardt is excited to share the real-life lessons he believes are embedded in this production as well as a couple laughs along the way. Tumbleson fondly recalls her experience and relationship with her other female cast members.
“These three girls (Tumbleson’s fellow female cast members) have become like older sisters to me, the four of us hang out all the time outside of rehearsals and I have loved getting to know them on a deeper level because of this show,” Tumbleson said.
Hubbard has enjoyed collaborating as a cast again.
“Everyone has missed this in-person collaboration these past several months,” Hubbard said.
