Recorded live on April 4, 2025
Production closed April 20, 2025
Blackfriars Playhouse – Staunton, VA
As part of our spring Lights On Blackfriars series, the American Shakespeare Center invited audiences into the creative process behind our 2025 production of The Comedy of Errors. Though the show has since closed, this conversation with director Chris Johnston offered timeless insights into what makes Shakespeare’s shortest play one of his most complex—and most chaotic.
Johnston, a veteran of over 120 ASC productions sat down with Lia Wallace, Education Programs Manager, for a live discussion about directing in shared light, staging slapstick with stakes, and trusting the architecture of Shakespeare’s words—and the Blackfriars Playhouse itself.
Watch the full conversation:
From Basketball to Shakespearean Clowning
Johnston’s theatrical journey started, like many great stories, with a twist of fate:
“I didn’t make final cuts on the basketball team because I’m terrible at basketball. But I saw auditions for the school musical—my older sister did musicals—so I went and auditioned. Got cast as a dancer and an actor and had a blast.”
Though his first love was music, Johnston eventually enrolled in the actor training program at the University of Utah, then earned his MFA in Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University. After auditioning for ASC in 2005, he toured with the company, performed in dozens of shows, and became a fixture in both acting and music direction.
“I came here wanting to play music first and theatre second. And then… I started to realize how lovely the words in the book are.”
A Fast Play with Big Problems—and a Small Cast
The Comedy of Errors runs under 1,800 lines uncut, but Johnston directed it with only nine actors, despite a final scene that includes over 14 characters.
“That’s where a lot of the cuts really started to come. People have to start going just to try to tell that story.”
Still, Johnston trimmed sparingly, preserving what he could of the play’s rhythm and language. Even Aegeon’s lengthy opening speech only lost one line, and later regained it.
“The story is amazing. It’s so good. And I feel like doing anything beyond just the words sometimes gets in the way.”
Making Violence Funny—Without Being Harmful
One of Johnston’s greatest challenges? Navigating the physical violence between the Antipholi and the Dromios.
“It is not funny. No—it’s not right. But we have to lean into the trope. We want it stylized. We don’t want it to look like domestic violence whatsoever. We want it to look like WWE.”
Working with fight director JP Schiedler, Johnston encouraged actors to generate their own comedic movement. The resulting fights were sibling-like in energy: exaggerated, physical, and rooted in character.
“It’s silly. That was the main goal.”
Drum Kits, Melancholy, and a World on Edge
To establish tone from the top, Johnston opened the show with a high-energy spectacle: a pre-show speech, a three-drum-kit musical performance, and a world that felt just a little too unstable.
“I wanted Ephesus to feel dangerous. I felt like if that’s the motif of the world… we need to believe it’s dangerous to be here.”
That unease, he said, is essential to earning the comedy that follows.
“Everyone’s losing the battle of just existence. But once the jokes start happening… suddenly that starts to be funny.”
Trust the Architecture—Of Space and Language
Johnston’s greatest lesson after years on the Blackfriars stage?
“Have your faith in the architecture of the space. And have your faith in the architecture of the words. And the magic happens.”
In one rehearsal, Johnston nearly reintroduced a literal door for the classic door-slamming scene—then scrapped the idea at the last minute.
“I realized I was breaking my own rule. You have to trust the sentence.”
Audience Interactions: Screams, Stares, and Shared Light
After over 120 productions, Johnston has a trove of unforgettable audience moments. Two favorites include:
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Silent Judgment in The White Devil
“After my sister exited and it was clear I’d just lied to her up and down, the audience all just looked at me. I was like, ‘I’m working hard here, people—I need your help!’”
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The Moat Shriek in Much Ado About Nothing
“Ben Curns was crawling across the moat… there was a lady right here who was so into what we were doing that she forgot there was an actor hiding. She saw him and went ‘AHHHHHHH!’ We all just lost it. We didn’t know what to do. Ben was mortified. He was like, ‘Can I… can I cross that?’”
What’s Next: The Winter’s Tale on Jun. 6
While The Comedy of Errors has now closed, Lights On Blackfriars continues. Join us for the next live conversation:
The Winter’s Tale
Lights On Blackfriars – Thursday, June 6 at 5:00 PM
Blackfriars Playhouse, Staunton, VA
With Raphael Emmanuel (Director) and Dr. Peter Kirwan (Editor, Arden 4 Edition)
Get an inside look at ASC’s upcoming summer production and explore how this play of grace, jealousy, and myth unfolds in shared light.
Tickets are required and available through the ASC Box Office.
Learn More about Lights ON Blackfriars Events
About Lights On Blackfriars
Lights On Blackfriars is the American Shakespeare Center’s monthly pre-show talk series, offering behind-the-scenes conversations with artists, scholars, and creators working on each production. Held live at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, VA, these events are ticketed and open to all audience members.
Catch More Conversations
- Madness and Meaning in King Lear – Dr. Susan Anderson
- Behind the Blade: Fight Choreography in King Lear and Comedy of Errors
- King Lear & Little Women – Lights ON Blackfriars featuring Constance Swain, Erin Riley, & Paul Barnes from the ASC Spring 2025
- Little Women – Behind the Seams with Costume Designer Amy Monsalve
Want to be part of the next conversation?
Join us at the Blackfriars Playhouse, where the lights stay on—and the audience is part of the story.