This spring, join the cast of UNC Asheville’s TheatreUNCA for the lighthearted retelling of William Shakespeare’s classic tale, Twelfth Night. Directed by Kirstin Leigh Daniel, founding artistic director of Venture Shakespeare, Twelfth Night is a comedy that will introduce audiences to new fresh faces in starring roles. Performances will take place April 7 – 10, 2022, inside UNC Asheville’s Carol Belk Theatre, with an option to livestream Friday and Saturday evening performances. Tickets are on sale now with a suggested donation of $5 – $10.
“The opening of Twelfth Night feels like a full-circle moment for TheatreUNCA,” says Chair and Associate Professor of Drama Lise Kloeppel. “Two years ago, Kirstin Daniel was scheduled to direct a production of Julius Caesar that would open on April 16, 2020, in the Belk Theatre. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we had to cancel the production. We wanted to give Kirstin a ‘take two,’ except this time around, we thought our audiences needed a comedy about romantic love rather than a tragedy about political corruption. We hope Twelfth Night’s themes about not only family and loss but also gender, love, and hope will speak to contemporary audiences.”
William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy with interwoven plots, mistaken identities, practical jokes, and unrequited love. In this love “square,” twins Viola (Mack Moseley ’23) and Sebastian (Nick Lock ’22) are separated during a shipwreck. Viola, disguised as a boy, falls in love with Duke Orsino (David Gingold ’22), who is in love with Countess Olivia (Ella Schneider ’24). Upon meeting Viola -disguised as Cesario – Olivia falls in love with them.
“Set in 2022 in a university student union, this production draws upon the original practices of Elizabethan theatre, such as fostering an intimate connection between the actors and audience, playing live music, and staging all the action on a unit set,” says Kloeppel.
She continues, “Kirstin’s approach to staging this 17th-century play has allowed our student actors the opportunity to fully embody Shakespeare’s heightened language with their whole minds, hearts, and souls. The play’s style and text allow them to feel and express themselves deeply, which has been a welcomed reprieve after two years of social isolation and masked faces.”
Performances for Twelfth Night will occur once a day at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7 – Friday, April 8, twice on Saturday, April 9 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and again on Sunday, April 10 at 2 p.m. Tickets may be reserved with a suggested donation of $5 – $10. Visit Eventbrite to register for your ticket.
For more information, visit drama.unca.edu/engage/theatreunca/ or contact TheatreUNCA’s box office at 828-232-2291 or theatre@unca.edu.
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