Wichita Shakespeare Company kicks off its season with 'totally rad' production of 'Love's Labours Lost'
In its 26th year, the company presents two wildly different approaches to Shakespeare: An '80s undergraduate take on comedy "Love's Labours Lost" opens June 6, and a "no gimmicks" version of "Romeo and Juliet" is coming in September.
Wichita Shakespeare Company’s first show of the year is set on a college campus in the 1980s.
“When I reread ‘Love’s Labours Lost,’ with its story of unrequited love, crossed wires, and mistaken identity, I immediately saw it as the sort of story one would expect to hear happening at school,” said director Angela Forrest.
Jane Tanner dressed the set and actors. Set in a campus quad, the show comes “complete with hacky sack games,” said Tanner, who has been with the company through its entire history. “Sort of a combo of preppy meets ‘Miami Vice’ meets ‘Animal House’ meets a John Hughes movie. Lots of khaki, big hair, polos, boxy jackets, and color.” She replaced scrolls and letters with “cutely folded notes like we used for passing notes in class.”
“Props and costumes have proved more challenging than I anticipated,” Forrest said. “Apparently finding old film cameras and neon-colored apparel isn’t as simple as a quick trip to the consignment store. But thanks to Jane and my intrepid cast, we’re going to pull off a more authentic ’80s college vibe.”
Forrest, who called herself “a geologist and engineer by trade but a generalist at heart,” tinkered with acting and forensics in school, “but I never really thought it would be something I’d get back into as an adult.”
But in 2015, “when I moved to Wichita for grad school, a friend invited me to see a Wichita Shakespeare Company production of ‘Hamlet,’ and from that moment on I knew I wanted to do what they were doing,” she said.
A few years later, “I summoned the courage to audition for an all-female production of ‘Pericles,’ and that was the official start of my experience with Wichita Shakespeare Company. I acted in a few more shows and worked on virtual Shakespeare productions during the pandemic, and soon realized that I was hooked.”
In 2024, she co-directed “The Taming of the Shrew” with Chris Welborn.
Forrest said the work on that show was “an absolutely amazing experience. We had sight gags galore. Where else would you see a horse head on a wagon being offered a drink?” They also built “a literal storybook backdrop.”
The production drew healthy attendance and donations. “I think we succeeded in making Shakespeare more accessible to those who don’t think they like Shakespeare,” she said. “My goal with Shakespeare has always been to make it conversational while still maintaining the poetry of the written word.”
On a more practical level, for shows produced outside in parks that are being shared by kids, Frisbees, dogs, and audiences, “First and foremost, longer plays such as ‘Love’s Labours Lost’ need to be cut for time. The text needs to be sculpted to make sure the important plot points remain while excising lines that don’t serve our interpretation. I’ve learned from other shows that I do not want to be racing the sunset and finishing the production in darkness, so I made sure to keep the text to around 90 minutes.”
Especially when adapting the play, the script “needs to be tweaked to fit the more modern interpretation.” Given the time and place of this production, “no one should be hunting deer with a bow and arrow on a college campus, so the ‘shooting’ becomes point-and-click, and our forester becomes our cameraman.”
Casting for the bare-bones theater involves other practicalities, as well, mirroring the kinds of factors Shakespeare et. al. had to consider when crafting plays not just poetic and timeless, but also profitable enough to keep their players employed.
“You need a solid cast and someone not on stage to help out with costumes and props,” Forrest said. “You also need people who can paint, do minor construction, help with advertisement, design the poster, transport set pieces, and act as stage manager.”
The cast features Robby Brining (Ferdinand), Hanson Long, Owen Balman, and Colton Farmer (Biron, Longaville, and Dumain); and Ashley Grega (Princess) and Ashley McCracken-Christy, Lynnaya McClure, and Jo Herman (Rosaline, Katherine, and Maria). Additional cast members are Joshua Rosenberg, Jaxson Mannis, Kristin Moody, Chris Welborn, Shannon Ciccarello, Monty Phelps, Nathan Betzen, and Echo Waters.
“This cast is a nice mix of people I’ve worked with before, people I’ve seen in other productions, and people who have never done this sort of thing before,” Forrest said, “so I know I’ve got strong memorizers, loud voices — an absolute must in the park — talented mixed-media artists, folks who can source random props, the supremely organized, and the eager to learn.
“I adore Shakespeare. I have since I was old enough to read. And I love the fact that I can bring my own spin to a version of ‘Love’s Labours Lost’ to an audience that wants to be there.”
The September production, “Romeo and Juliet,” will be directed by Chris Welborn.
Welborn’s wife lured him into WSC a few years back. He returned to theatre after a 15-year post-high school hiatus and since has performed in five of Shakespeare’s shows.
“‘Romeo and Juliet’ will be my first show solely directed by me, as well as my first foray into non-comedy,” he said. “I love making people laugh, so I am excited to challenge myself with this show. I hope to grow as a director while also help my cast grow as performers.”
Welborn has seen plenty of productions playing with Shakespeare’s time and place: in space, the Wild West, with vampires and werewolves.
“When I signed on to do this, my idea was no gimmicks,” he said. “Classic, beautiful, romantic, and tragic Romeo and Juliet. We aren’t going as far back as Shakespeare’s time, but we are focusing on the story of these two young lovers in an almost free-form, non-period–specific world.”
The Details
Wichita Shakespeare Company presents "Love's Labours Lost" and "Romeo and Juliet"
Venues include Central Riverside, Buffalo, and College Hill Parks in Wichita as well as parks in Andover and Derby and the new Wichita Foundation Amphitheater at Exploration Place. The final Sunday performance for each show is presented indoors at University Friends Church, 1840 W. University St. in Wichita.
WSC encourages audience members to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and bug spray.
All shows begin at 7 p.m. with an approximate run time of 90 minutes.
Free; donations are accepted.
Full schedule:
“Love’s Labours Lost,” June 6-22, 2025
Friday, June 6: College Hill Park
Saturday, June 7: High Park Amphitheater, Derby
Sunday, June 8: Andover Sports Park
Friday, June 13: Central Riverside Park
Saturday, June 14: College Hill Park
Sunday, June 15: Buffalo Park
Friday, June 20: College Hill Park
Saturday, June 21: Central Riverside Park
Sunday, June 22: University Friends Church (indoors)
“Romeo and Juliet,” September 5-21, 2025
Friday, September 5: College Hill
Saturday, September 6: TBD
Sunday, September 7: Andover Sports Park
Friday, September 12: Central Riverside Park
Saturday, September 13: Central Riverside Park
Sunday, September 14: Buffalo Park
Friday, September 19: College Hill
Saturday, September 20: Exploration Place
Sunday, September 21: University Friends Church (indoors)
Learn more about Wichita Shakespeare Company on their website.
Anne Welsbacher writes plays, nonfiction, and book and theater reviews. She can be found on Substack and Bluesky. She is the performing arts editor for this publication. awelsbacher.com
❋ Derby man has the kind of voice that turns heads — and chairs
❋ Socializing while sober: how some Wichitans are cultivating alcohol-free communities
❋ As a small creative business closes, the owner mourns
❋ Painting through it: Autumn Noire on 20 years of making art
❋ How a guy from Wichita resurrected 'Dawn of the Dead'
❋ Bygone Friends University museum housed curious collections
Support Kansas arts writing!
The SHOUT is a Wichita-based independent newsroom focused on artists living and working in Kansas. We're partly supported by the generosity of our readers, and every dollar we receive goes directly into the pocket of a contributing writer, editor, or photographer. Click here to support our work with a tax-deductible donation.
The latest from the SHOUT
Emily Christensen
Leslie VonHolten
Anne Welsbacher
Sam Jack