Shakespeare’s much beloved play about marriage, trickery, and secrets comes to all three College of the Sequoias campuses throughout the month of October. Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy play thought to have been written between 1598 and 1599.

This classic play tells the story of two pairs of lovers deceived into believing scandalous things about their partner, causing a huge mess for everyone involved. Much Ado About Nothing was known to be incredibly popular after it’s release and is one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays to date.

This performance marks the first show that the College of the Sequoias theatre department has put on since the beginning of the pandemic.

The play’s director, James McDonnell, stated, “All audience members will be required to follow all mandates and protocols required by the Sequoias Community College District which takes its lead from the Tulare County Department of Public Health, The CA Department of Public Health, and the CDC.”

Since all performances will be outdoors on the festival stage, McDonnell is hoping that this will be a safe, inviting, and comfortable space for the public to gather safely and responsibly.

McDonnell followed that up with, “Auditions went very well. We had an exceptionally high turn-out rate which was very encouraging… We felt that, [during the Spring 2020 semester], we had lost some momentum and numbers, but it was a healthy turn-out for auditions and we are excited for our next set of auditions which are in the last week of September.”

He later shared that the performances will take place in Visalia on October 15th and 16th, in Tulare on the 22nd and 23rd, and in Hanford on the 29th and 30th.