Sandy Spring Theatre Group
Much Ado About Nothing
a comedy by William Shakespeare.


AUG 10 - 20.30 pm
KRAENG PATTILANGGOANG OPERA SUTEJA BUILDING BASEMENT MH. ABDUH AVE. JAKARTA 43215


Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. First published in 1600, it is likely to have been first performed in the autumn or winter of 1598-1599, and it remains one of Shakespeare's most enduring and exhilarating plays on stage. Stylistically, it shares numerous characteristics with modern romantic comedies including the two pairs of lovers, in this case the romantic leads, Claudio and Hero, and their comic counterparts, Benedick and Beatrice.

Sandy Spring Theatre Group (SSTG) was formed in 1949 as a money-raising activity of the Sherwood PTA, and its first play was performed using members of the PTA as the cast. Its next effort was performed at the Olney Theater, courtesy of Mr. C. Y. Stevens, then owner of Olney Theater. The Group continued to produce its annual spring play at the Olney Theater until the death of Mr. Stevens in 1967. After that, plays were produced at Sherwood, Farquhar, Paint Branch, Kennedy and Argyle schools.

In 1960, desiring to encourage interest in the dramatic arts, the Group established awards for outstanding drama students at Sherwood High School. Six engraved plaques were presented each year, for more than 35 years, to members of the Sherwood Jesters for acting and technical excellence.

In 1972, the Vestry at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Brighton, approached the Group with the offer of its parish hall (formerly the local Grange Hall) as a home and theater for its players. The Group had dreamed of a home and now one was offered. This association with St. Luke's lasted through 1982, when the Vestry felt it could no longer afford to maintain the building. During those years, however, many memorable productions were performed in that tiny space.

In the meantime, the Group began the quest for quality theater for children, and in 1979 the first of many annual children's shows was born. It began as a money-raiser for the Sherwood PTSO and continued for many years. There were several original musical works written by SSTG members over the years.

In 1986 the group performed it's first entry in the first year of the Maryland Community Theatre Festival (MCTF), an original one-act play by member Dan Young titled "In Dedication." SSTG has never missed a Festival since, and has garnered many excellent reviews and awards. In 1996, the SSTG production of the one-act "The Adjudicators" by Stan Levin won the AACT's coveted, national, Best New Play award and was presented in New York City.  Our production of "The Real Inspector Hound" won the Maryland State one-act play tournament and competed successfully regionally.  Our 2002 entry in the MCTF, "Suffering Fools," written by Paul Handy, won best new play, best actress (Tracy Collier), and 2nd runner up for best production.

With the spring 1999 production of Godspell, SSTG is especially proud to be the recipient of the 1999 Ruby Griffith Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Musical Production. In 2001 SSTG was the recipient of a second Ruby Griffith Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Musical Second Runner-Up for an exceptional Fall 2000 production of Sweeney Todd.

In the years since St. Luke's, the Group has performed at Sandy Spring Friends School, Sherwood's Ertsman Theater, Sherwood Little Theater, the Olney Boys' and Girls' Club gym, and The Kenmont Swim Club. In the spring of 2001, after 10 years of being known as "The Little Theatre By The Pool" at Kenmont, SSTG moved briefly to The Kensington Armory.

In the 2002-2003 Season, the group performed at the Sandy Spring Museum in Sandy Spring, MD, and the Millian Memorial United Methodist Church in Rockville. Throughout its history, it has shown itself to be flexible and adaptive as it continues to look for a permanent home.

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

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