Twelfth Night was my first Shakespearean show as an actor, playing Fabian at Bloomington North as a senior in high school; nearly fifteen years later, I am so grateful to have a chance to do this show as a director. Revisiting it has given me a new insight into the brilliance of this play.

Times are obviously very strange right now. With this show, I want audiences to be able to laugh despite the ridiculousness, perhaps because of it. Additionally, this play’s subtitle is “Or What You Will.” We ask you to suspend your disbelief tonight, and a treasure of this play is that Shakespeare allows his audience a chance to be a part of the joke. Because of this, you may notice we’ve done some things a little differently, a little wink to the audience here and there (some subtle, others not so much).

For stylistic purposes, I wanted to go with a Carnival/Mardi Gras theme. I felt like the unabashed joy of the ceremonies, combined with the atmosphere that comes from the scenery and costumes, convey the message that it’s okay to be a little ridiculous sometimes.

Thanks to a wonderful cast/crew, co-workers, friends and family, who keep encouraging me.

Enjoy the show, and like Feste the jester says, “We’ll strive to please you every day.”

– Eric P. Van Gucht