Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” opens April 20 at SUNY New Paltz

The Department of Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz proudly presents a manic and freewheeling presentation of William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors,” with performances April 20-23 and April 27-30 at McKenna Theatre on the New Paltz campus.

The production is directed by Connie Rotunda, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz, whose recent credits include numerous regional and off-Broadway roles as an actor and movement coach.

“The Comedy of Errors” is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, a farce loaded with the mistaken identities and slapstick set pieces that have come to define the genre both on stage and screen.

It tells the tale of two sets of identical twins, accidentally separated at birth, in pursuit of love, happiness and the restoration of their fraternal families. The adventure carries them through a series of wild mishaps, false accusations, infidelity, theft, madness, and many, many beatings upon the head.

This production borrows from the rich gesture and chaotic spirit of anarchy that lives in the movies of the Marx Brothers, and draws musical underscoring from the likes of Louis Prima and the Boswell Sisters. Beware of spontaneous dancing.

Performances of “The Comedy of Errors” will be given from April 20-22 and 27-29 at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinee performances at 2 p.m. on April 23 and 30. All performances will take place at McKenna Theatre.

Tickets are $18 general reserve; $16 senior (62+), New Paltz faculty and staff and non-New Paltz students; and $10 for SUNY New Paltz students.

Tickets can also be purchased online at http://www.newpaltz.edu/theatre, or in person at The Box Office in Parker Theatre, open Monday – Friday from 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

For additional information call (845) 257- 3880 or email boxoffice@newpaltz.edu.

On Friday, April 21, a pre-show panel discussion will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. The conversation will be moderated by Cyrus Mulready, assistant professor of English, and will include include Ken Goldstein, associate chair of Theatre Arts; Thomas Olsen, associate professor of English; and Dorothy Luongo of the Rhinebeck Theatre Society. The discussion is free and open to the public.

An “Alumni Night at the Theatre” presentation of “The Comedy of Errors” will be held on Saturday, April 29. Alumni may use this link to purchase tickets at a discounted price of $15, which includes a pre-show reception in the Parker Theatre Lobby beginning at 6:30 p.m.

About the Director
In addition to her work as a professional actor, Connie Rotunda is a founder and performer with sketch comedy with Alarm Dog Rep. She has been a guest artist/teacher at the Florida State University Asolo Conservatory, the Metro Playhouse, the Northeast Theatre Conservatory and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

As a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Method® practitioner, Rotunda is a frequent guest workshop teacher at the Feldenkrais Institute of New York. She was recently named the Inaugural Scholar of the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA) for her experiential research creating a synergy between Chekhov Technique and the Feldenkrais Method.

Rotunda is currently a member of Wallis Knot and a rogue artist with The Anthropologists and Messenger Theatre Company, all independent experimental theatre companies developing new works, and based in NYC.