That’s amore

From Thursday until this past Sunday, I wore orange toe nail polish. Now, this isn’t something I usually do. In fact, I don’t even own the dreadful color. But you do odd things when you’re in a play.


This summer, my husband and I acted in a small production of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost.

The plot is simple. Four guys swear to study and not speak to women (among other prohibitions) for three years. Only moments later, four beautiful and witty ladies show up, and the men all fall desperately (and inconveniently) in love.

The men try crazy tricks like dressing up like “Muscovites” to woo the women and still keep their integrity. Don’t they just embody integrity here?




But the women are too smart for that and end up playing even better tricks on the men—like disguising themselves in scarves and sunglasses to make the guys woo the wrong girls. Ooh, aren’t we so clever.





Ok, so Shakespeare’s expecting a healthy dosage of willing suspension of disbelief. But when you add a crazy Spaniard and a group of goofballs into the mix, the play’s a lot of fun.


We played Katherine and Dumain, one of the four couples who fall in love (Fortunately, these were both minor roles that gave us plenty of stage time but not very many lines to memorize).

My favorite part about being involved in any play is meeting new people and spending time with friends. An added bonus of being in a Shakespeare production is that you have lots of the Bard’s lines constantly running through your head. All summer my husband and I have been bantering lines back and forth. Things like I will, Madam, if suddenly I may. / You will the sooner that I were away for you’ll prove perjured if you make me stay! end up popping into our normal conversations. It’s great fun.

Some of my favorite lines from the play:

We shall have, if this fadge not, a firework!
(This line we misunderstood through more than half of the performances—we all wondered why we didn’t get to see any fireworks....)

Pardon, error! (Spoken with a heavy Spanish accent)

But in this changing, what is your intent? (Spoken with a valley girl accent when offstage)

For he hath wit to make an ill shape good,
And shape to win grace though he had no wit. (Katherine would say of Dumain)

O most divine Kate! As fair as day. (Dumain would say of Katherine :) Unfortunately, Berowne would follow with Ay, as some days; but then no sun must shine.)

The thickest and the tallest! it is so; truth is truth.
Are not you the chief woman? you are the thickest here.
(The reaction of the audience toward this line of Costard’s—directed at the princess—got more violent as the performances went on. I thought about selling tomatoes at the door so they could really let him have it.)

Maybe you’d have to have been there to find these funny, but a lot of you were. Glad you could come see us! Oh, and if you know my husband, ask him about the “rip, roaring good time” he had on stage when his pants decided to...well, I won’t ruin the surprise.