NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

10/05/2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES -Shakespeare never envisioned writing about a "Cosmo girl," but actress Mandi Ridgdell thinks he would create such a character if he were alive today. Ridgdell, a junior from Gonzales, will play Nerissa in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, which will be performed by the Northwestern Theatre Oct. 11-14 and 17-21 in Theatre West. Dr. Vicki Parrish is the director.

Parrish changed the setting from Venice to Miami in the 1980's to help a modern audience better understand the work.

In the play, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.

"This version sticks to the style of Shakespeare, but Merchant of Venice was a five-hour play and the length of the play along with the language would be a lot for an audience," said Ridgdell. The way this play is staged will be more contemporary and easier for the audience, especially children, to enjoy.

According to Ridgdell, a live performance is the best way to be introduced to Shakespeare.

Shakespeare is to be performed not read, and it should be done in a way people can understand," she said. "If he were writing today, he would have done something like this in a modern setting."

In this version of Merchant of Venice, the characters have also been brought up to date.

Nerissa is a Cosmopolitan-reading girl of the 1980's who is into high fashion," said Ridgdell. "She works for Portia who is more of a business type. Nerissa is a lifelong friend and more of a confidant than a lady in waiting."

Ridgdell has enjoyed Shakespeare and is looking forward to the opening of the play.

"This is the first time I have performed Shakespeare. I have always loved it," she said. "I have done monologues and passages from it. As an actor, you have to fully understand Shakespeare. If you don't, the audience won't."

Majoring in theatre was natural for Ridgdell, who has taken every opportunity to perform and learn the craft.

"I was always around theatre as I was growing up. Some girls played softball and I was involved in theatre, either dancing or performing," she said. "In high school, I was part of a group that went to national competition and that told me that theatre was something I could do."

Ridgdell has been in NSU productions including The Shape of Things, Antigone and the annual Christmas Gala. She has also worked off stage in several plays. Ridgdell is a member of Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority at Northwestern.

"It is fun to be part of the program. There are so many personalities here," she said. "Because of the different types of people, there is always something to learn. I am glad I have had the change to do stage managing because I learned there are so many aspects of theatre in which you never set foot on stage."

Instead of moving to either coast or working in regional theatre as many theatre students do after graduation, Ridgdell plans to attempt to make a career in London's theatre district, the West End.

"A lot of people try New York, but when I went to London, it was more to my taste," said Ridgdell. "It is something I want to try."

Tickets are $10. NSU and Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts students are admitted free with I.D. For ticket information, call (318) 357-4483.

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