“I think the universal themes are forgiveness, to believe in people even though there may be some lies going around, to really find out the truth of situations,” said director of Carlmont’s fall production of “Much Ado About Nothing” Nancy Martin.

Martin and her cast rehearsed in the black box in preparation for their opening night, Nov. 4.

An anonymous Shakespearean educator said Shakespeare’s comedic play “revolves around two people who start out not liking each other and whose friends trick them into falling in love.”

Martin was confident in the production’s progress and her actors. She and the actors were very excited for the opportunity to put on Shakespeare. The majority of her cast had experience acting in Shakespearean plays.

For senior Jaime Bautista, “Much Ado” was his first play to be a part of.

Cast as the manipulative antagonist, he said: “It’s a massive amount of fun, and Ms. Martin is super supportive of anyone who is just starting out. She really gets into the swing of things. Everyone is always having fun; it doesn’t seem like work … At the same time we are rehearsing and memorizing the play and our lines.”

Actors weren’t the only part of this “Much Ado” puzzle.

The set was configured with stairs and platforms to bring dimensions and levels.

Martin was determined “to provide a set that gave the actors levels to work on so it wasn’t just all done on a flat stage.”

The set gave the cast rabbit-hole entrances as they utilized all of the stage and the additions.

Actors cascaded down stairs, appeared from behind the curtains, and emerged from the shadows.

Carlmont’s production of “Much Ado About Nothing” is set to show on Nov. 4-8.

She assures, despite its comedic genre “A lot of the scenes will bring you to tears… has a lot of heart in it.”