Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare
Illinois Shakespeare Theatre
Directed by Lisa Gaye Dixon
Scenic Design by José Manuel Diaz-Soto
July 2022
Much Ado About Nothing was one of three plays staged at Illinois Shakespeare Festival in the summer of 2022. Much Ado ran in rep with King Lear, so the two shows shared much of their scenery. Of the two, Much Ado had more variety in its scenery, which gave us the opportunity to paint stone, brick, and wood textures. All the scenery also had to be weatherproofed, since the shows took place in an outdoor venue.
The biggest challenge of Much Ado was the two large picture frames that sat on either side of the stage. In addition to their sheer size, they also had to be able to be broken down and stored during the show’s off weeks. Between timeline setbacks and a lack of space to lay the muslin out and work, the pictures ended up getting done shortly before the show went into tech, but I’m very proud of how they turned out in the end.
