Starling Shakespeare Company to perform “The Comedy of Errors” Sept. 5

Starling Shakespeare Company is presenting a free show, “The Comedy of Errors,” in the Benstead Theatre of Ripon College’s C.J. Rodman Center for the Arts Friday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Starling co-founder and Ripon College alumna Jessie Lillis ’13 is in the cast and alumna Andrea Williams ’04 is a designer for the play.

“This show is so silly and full of joy,” Lillis said. “It’s definitely the most playful thing we’ve produced as a company, and our audiences have had such a great time watching it across the season.”

The play, written by William Shakespeare, is a fast-paced farce about two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth and unknowingly reunite in the same city. Chaos, mistaken identities and slapstick misunderstandings ensue before the truth is hilariously and joyfully revealed.

Lillis said the show heavily features puppets, which has been fun for audiences to see. She said the play also incorporates music and live sound effects via a Foley table, which is a table or surface used to perform sound effects that are synchronized with the action on stage.

“At the end of the day, it’s about families reuniting and people trying to find each other and work through miscommunication,” Lillis said. “It explores those themes through some very playful means. It’s also quite interactive, so audiences should be ready to become players themselves.”

Starling has been in residence at Ripon College for the last three summers to prepare for their summer tours across the Midwest.

The company began rehearsals in early June this year, dedicating three weeks to each of their two summer productions. Following these six weeks, they began a nine-week tour called Shakespeare on Tour.

The group has performed extensively throughout the Midwest, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. This year, they’re returning to Virginia, where the company was founded five years ago.

“This year we will have done almost 50 performances across the entire season,” Lillis said. “We do all kinds of tours — outdoor shows, performances in more traditional theatre spaces, shows in churches, school tours, workshops, you name it, we’ve probably done it.”

Note: Prior to the play, Kristy Deetz, artist of the exhibit titled “Threads, Folds & Rabbit Holes,” will host an artist talk Friday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. in Demmer Recital Hall with a reception following at 6:45 p.m. in Caestecker Gallery. Her art exhibit will remain on display until Oct. 3.