Corona Cold Reads: Much Ado About Nothing

These are crazy times and we’ve all taken on a bunch of new projects as we socially isolate in order to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

We’re donating where we can, we’re cleaning the pantry, we’re organizing the 2300+ title dvd library. We’re still working on the Nominee Interview Series even though the live event for our yearly Critics’ Pick Awards had to be cancelled (we’ve still got winners to announce and, eventually, trophies to give out). We started the Corona Movie Club to help curb our boredom and constant need to talk about movies with other human beings. I’m even watching network procedurals and actually writing about them.

But what we all really need is comfort. We need our favourite things and our favourite people and right now those are hard to come by so we have to do everything we can to bring them together whenever possible. For me, there’s nothing quite so comforting and joyful as Shakespeare. Luckily, I know a lot of people who also love Shakespeare- a few old friends from my alma mater’s Shakespeare Society and a few of my favourite Toronto theatre artists, all of whom just so happen to be talented and generous and responsibly socially isolated enough to want to join a nearly 3-hour 19-person Zoom call for the purposes of livestreaming Shakespeare on YouTube.

Check out Much Ado About Nothing in audio form below (or on iTunes) then tune into our YouTube page on Saturday and Tuesday nights at 7pm EST to catch our live readings.

A huge thank you to the cast of Much Ado:

Benedick- Mo Kamaly
Beatrice- Torey Urquhart
Leonato- Thomas Gough
Hero- Gaby Grice
Don Pedro- Laura Hubbard
Don John- Anne van Leeuwen
Claudio- Mark Kreder
Antonio/Sexton- Elizabeth Morriss
Conrade- Cass Van Wyck
Borachio- Melissa Wright
Margaret- Hilary Wartinger
Dogberry- Elizabeth Ramirez
Verges/Lord/ Balthasar- Charlotte Brewer
Ursula/First Watchman/Friar Francis- Shalyn McFaul
Second Watchman/Messenger/Boy- Miriam B