MANSFIELD — William Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and several other works of poetry.
He also enjoyed performing in his own theatrical works, primarily in supporting roles. Clearly, the Bard liked to stay busy during his lifetime four centuries ago.
Recent Ashland University graduate Leanna Uselton knows that feeling as a performer and assistant director with the Mansfield Shakespeare Company‘s “Twelfth Night” coming up this weekend at South Park in Mansfield.
In fact, the Ashland High School graduate cannot choose which side of the stage she prefers.
“I’m going to do a cop-out answer and say both,” she said with a laugh before a dress rehearsal of the romantic Shakespeare comedy that will stage Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
The show is free to the public and lawn chairs are recommended.
“I like to have my hands in all the different baskets,” she said. “I like to help with costumes and everything I can.”
Uselton, who earned a minor in theater at AU, is working with director Christopher Hartman on the outdoor show while also performing the role of Viola.
“Basically, I assist Christopher on anything he needs,” the 23-year-old said.
“I also come up with some of the creative ideas with the show if I see anything that needs to be changed or anything like that,” she said.
“I go to all the production meetings and helped to cast the show,” Uselton said. “This is my first time being involved (with the Mansfield Shakespeare Company) and it’s been a great experience.”
It’s the second summer “Shakespeare in the Park” for the local organization after staging “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2024 at the city park before large audiences.
Tori O’Brien is also performing double duty. She is portraying Maria in the show and is also a board member of the Mansfield Shakespeare Company.
“We learned a lot of lessons about how people in our community want to see this type of show,” she said.
“We had close to 400 people last year come out and see Shakespeare in Mansfield, Ohio, which is something I’m really proud of and I know the whole board is really proud of,” O’Brien said.
“We’re hoping to see that kind of turnout this year as well, or even higher. I think just the fact that Mansfield can have a ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ setup, which is something you really only see in bigger cities like Columbus, Akron or Cincinnati.
“To be able to have that here, I think is something that could be part of the story that’s emerging about Mansfield and how we’re we’re got a lot of great things here and a lot of great things to come,” O’Brien said.
(Below are photos from a dress rehearsal of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at South Park in Mansfield. The story continues below the photos.)
Actress Vivian Shenberger, a Mapleton High School graduate who earned an English degree at The Ohio State University, portrays Olivia in “Twelfth Night.”
“I’ve always been intrigued by Shakespeare, even when I was younger before I even read him,” Shenberger said.
“I like the complexity of Olivia because on the surface, you could just chalk her up to being very silly because she falls in love with a woman dressed as a man and doesn’t realize it, but she’s struggling with grief and with having to run her own household,” she said.
“She’s now the head of her house after losing her brother, and so many people are in love with her, but they’re more in love with the idea of her, rather than herself. She’s kind of coming into her own and finding love for the first time and that can be both daunting and crazy,” Shenberger said.
“She’s both funny and sad, and I think that’s very interesting,” she said.
The 28-year-old Hartman, a Mount Vernon High School graduate who earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in musical theater at Ohio Northern in 2019, had plans for professional performance.
But the COVID-19 pandemic closed theaters around the country.
He attended the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium at Kent State University during the three summers, earning certification as an actor and teacher.
He will return next summer to become certified as a director in the Chekhov technique, which emphasizes the mind-body connection and the use of imagination and movement to access and express emotions.
Hartman said he is excited to provide the show in the open air setting.
“Doing this outside, being able to perform outside in nature, that’s all the atmosphere you need,” Hartman said.
“When you’re inside a theater, whether it’s a show like this or it’s Arthur Miller or something contemporary, you have to work (to create) that atmosphere.
“Here though, we have so much ambience … the possibility of rain … there’s a lot of excitement because here we are and we just get to play off whatever is going on around us, and that includes the audience,” Hartman said.
