Beginning November 10th, Bishop Noll’s drama club will be performing “Twelfth Night”, a comedy written by William Shakespeare, featuring the direction of new theatre director Mr. Michael Carioto.

The plot revolves around Orsino, who is the Duke of Illyria and in love with his neighbor, the Countess Olivia. Olivia has sworn to avoid men’s company for seven years while she mourns the death of her brother, so rejects him.

Nearby, a young woman named Viola has survived a shipwreck in a storm at sea. Viola mourns the loss of her twin brother but decides to dress as a boy to get better work as a page to woo Duke Orsino. Despite his rejection by Olivia, Orsino sends his new page Cesario (Viola in disguise) to woo Olivia on his behalf. Viola goes unwillingly as she has already fallen in love at first sight with the duke.

This is Mr. Michael Carioto’s first time in the director’s chair of a Bishop Noll play, replacing Kevin Burgun. However, Carioto is no stranger to BNI theatre. He has helped behind the stage with choreography for “High School Musical” and “Into the Woods”.

“I want the students to be exposed to all kinds of theatre and I see common themes that are still relevant today,” said Mr. Carioto, explaining his goals for this year. “As well as Chicago Theatre still finding Shakespeare to be quite valuable, it makes our students more marketable when they apply for college programs.”

As one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, Twelfth Night has been adapted into many contemporary variations, including the 2006 movie “She’s the Man” starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum. However, Carioto has decided to stick to the original Elizabethan style.

“It is important for theatre students to know how to portray Period Style as well as modern interpretations. They have studied other works as well as me teaching them what is known as the “Actor Oriented Language” that Shakespeare wrote in,” he said.

The showtimes for the play are Nov. 10-12 and Nov. 17-19. Fridays and Saturdays start at 7pm. ​Sundays at 2pm. THe cast stars

Viola (Cesario)- Gabriella Herrera

Sebastian- Angel Guerrero

Countess Olivia- Jacquline Milkowski

Duke Orsino- Jordan Shipp

Sir Toby Belch- Abel Alejandre

Sir Andrew Aguecheek- Nick Emsing

Malvolio- Isaiah Rivera

Fabian- Nicole Michelin

Feste- Hayden Kammer

Maria- Kameron Green