Emily Robinson, who grew up in a small town in Ohio, realized early on the importance of being true to herself. So even though breaking into theater as a director and actor can be difficult, she got a degree in theater and then moved to Chicago to pursue her dream in between doing freelance editing work.
It makes perfect sense, then, that she’s directing “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which opens Friday at Three Brothers Theatre in Waukegan.
The play, written by Oscar Wilde more than 100 years ago, has a Shakespearean theme of mistaken identity, deceit and word play, she said, adding the audience will find the words much easier to understand compared with Shakespeare.
“This play is a commentary on being yourself,” she said. “The script is full of hilarious quotes … that make the audience do kind of a mental double take even as they laugh about it.”
Robinson has been involved with the show before several times, including a stint doing a stage reading in Chicago.
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“I love the way (Wilde) plays with language. Every time I see the show, I catch something I hadn’t caught before. I love that it’s new every time you revisit it, and the way (Wilde) comments on society at the time.”
The complicated plot has two male friends each posing as someone named Ernest, and falling in love with women who want to marry someone named Ernest.
“Most of the play, the men are trying to keep up this ruse, and there’s all this hilarity about people trying to think they’re something they’re not,” Robinson said.
“The women find themselves not with who they thought they were with. They find out there is no Ernest.”
The comedy bordering on the absurd was first produced in 1895 and features characters such as Lady Bracknell, who believes everything must be the way high society esteems it, Robinson said.
That theme of societal rules still rings true today, Robinson said, adding Americans continue to be fascinated with “anything British and high society,” which endears them to the play.
“We like listening to the British dialect,” Robinson said. “And the costumes are such a huge part of the play. Back then people would change four times a day. They’d be in the house all day and then dress up to go to dinner in the dining room. That’s fascinating.”
Robinson said she’s been working with the eight actors and actresses to fine tune their British dialect by having them watch movies with characters who speak with the accent. Plus two of the actors are dialect coaches, and there’s also an online database for actors to learn about the British dialect, she said.
Robinson, who studied film and theater in college, came to Chicago in 2009 to seek acting and directing roles. She’s enjoyed acting with Shapeshifters Theatre in Chicago, among other production houses, and got her first gig directing at Three Brothers Theatre summer festival last year.
“Directing is the only other thing that really fulfills me in the way that acting does,” she said.
“But it’s hard even in community theaters in the city (to get a directing role). For Three Brothers to give me that opportunity is wonderful. To be part of a company that’s growing is really cool. Even if I do work other places, this is my home base, and I know everybody there.”
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
When: June 3-25
Where: Three Brothers Theatre, 115 N. Genesee St., Waukegan
Tickets: $15-$20
Information: 224-419-4325 or go to 3brostheatre.com