Written by Kenzie James // Photo by Macy Cox

The Harding Theatre Department performed “The Importance of Being Earnest” Feb. 8-10 and 15-17. Director C. Robin Miller said the show has an important role in the history of Harding theatre, which contributed to why it was chosen to be a part of the 2023- 2024 season.

The Theatre Department has been a part of Harding since the University was founded, and “The Importance of Being Earnest” was the first production they performed. The encore of the play this year honored the Centennial year celebrations, but the cast and crew also brought some changes to the show.

“The big thing, is we’ve got Dr. Michael Claxton from the Department of English to write some additional introductory material that we’re using as part of the show, and that’s going to be very fun,” Miller said.

Miller also described how the monologues Claxton wrote for the character Oscar Wilde use many of Wilde’s own words from quotes throughout his life.

The added monologues are used to help cover transitions throughout the show, stage manager Sully Hickman said. This is partly due to the adjustment of being in the Ulrey Performing Arts Center compared to the Benson Auditorium.

Senior Janie Shasteen, who plays the role of Gwendolyn, was previously Mary Poppins in the 2023 Homecoming musical. She explained how she also felt the adjustment between the two stages and said it was difficult for her not to fall back into old habits from playing Mary.

Wilde’s comedy has plenty of scripted laughs for the audience, but both Hickman and Shasteen reflected that their favorite moments were the unscripted laughs among cast and crew. Hickman described the first read-through and how the script surprised them as they read it, “very much discovering the show as it unfolds.”

“My favorite memories have been [when] something unexpected happens and someone breaks character and we’re all trying to get through a scene but we’re all laughing,” Shasteen said.

Rehearsals for “The Importance of Being Earnest” started mid-November, so when opening night finally came, the cast and crew were ready for an audience to see the play.

“The art of theatre is incomplete without an audience,” Hickman said. “We have to have an audience there to see it. We can do theatre by ourselves, that’s what a rehearsal is, but it’s not the same.”