The Curtain Rises...

There comes a certain point in a production where an audience becomes necessary. If you have even been to a preview performance, or opening night of a show, you will understand. There is a level of heightened enthusiasm, the excitement and delight of the first laugh from an audience, the excited murmur from the audience prior to the performance, the hush that comes over the audience as the curtain rises or the lights go dim. Of all the exciting things in live theater, this is perhaps, my favorite. Last night, we at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, had our first preview for Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. With a few small hiccups here and there in the costume department (I was sitting next to the designer, and was privy to all the dresser notes that were taken), the performance was enchanting! It is so gratifying to be see all of your hard work before you and presented in a full and fun manner. It is also completely delightful to see something that I made, onstage, at the Festival! After all, I have been coming to see shows at the festival since 1997... It is rather thrilling to have finally created some of the costumes!

Benedick, Claudio, Don Pedro & Leonato

Kym Mellen as Beatrice