{"id":103587,"date":"2026-01-02T20:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/103587\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T20:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:05:09","slug":"tampas-jobsite-theater-isnt-pretending-comedy-of-errors-is-a-thesis-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/103587\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa’s Jobsite Theater isn\u2019t pretending\u00a0‘Comedy of Errors’\u00a0is a thesis statement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AKayla Witoshynsky (center) during the first blocking rehearsal for \u2018The Comedy of Errors,\u2019
showing at Jobsite Theater in Tampa, Florida. Jan. 14-Feb. 8, 2026. Credit: James Zambon Productions \/ Jobsite Theater<\/a><\/p>\n

Shakespeare skeptics, relax. This one isn\u2019t trying to teach you anything. It\u2019s trying to make you laugh.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the guiding principle behind\u00a0Jobsite Theater\u2019s upcoming production of\u00a0\u201cThe Comedy of Errors<\/a>\u201c, running Jan. 14\u2013Feb. 8 at the\u00a0Jaeb Theater. Set in the groovy, slightly unhinged world of the 1960s, this is Shakespeare stripped of reverence and played at full speed.<\/p>\n

Actor\u00a0Kayla Witoshynsky, who plays Luciana, puts it bluntly: \u201cComedy of Errors is a silly little show for escapism\u2026for the most part, we\u2019re just trying to have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

That clarity of purpose matters\u2014especially with a play that can spiral into chaos if you blink at the wrong moment.<\/p>\n

The accessibility question<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever bailed five minutes into Shakespeare because the language felt like homework, actor\u00a0Donovan Whitney\u00a0understands the hesitation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are just people that are expressing their thoughts and emotions with some funky words,\u201d he says. \u201cOnce you strip all that away, it all relates to today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitney, who plays one of the Antipholus twins, frames\u00a0\u201cComedy of Errors\u201d\u00a0less as literary artifact and more as a human comedy engine: jealousy, confusion, bad timing, and worse assumptions. The 1960s setting isn\u2019t a gimmick\u2014it\u2019s a translation device.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of the challenge\u2026how can you make it relatable?\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Why the 1960s work so well<\/p>\n

For Witoshynsky, the era opens the door to physical comedy and pop-cultural shorthand audiences instantly recognize.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can look at different tropes in sixties television\u2026play it like the Three Stooges,\u201d she says. \u201cIt allows you to say the scansion of the verse in a way that still has a beat but feels less foreign.\u201d<\/p>\n

That matters when many audience members\u2014especially weekday field trip students\u2014are encountering Shakespeare (or live theater at all) for the first time. The goal isn\u2019t perfect comprehension; it\u2019s momentum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you can ground the words in a caricature that\u2019s easier to grab ahold of, we can bring the audience with us,\u201d Witoshynsky explains.<\/p>\n

Laugh first. Think later. (Or don\u2019t.)<\/p>\n

Jobsite isn\u2019t pretending\u00a0\u201cComedy of Errors\u201d\u00a0is a thesis statement. Yes, there\u2019s depth. Yes, Shakespeare is saying something about society. But no one\u2019s stopping the show to underline it.<\/p>\n

As Witoshynsky notes,<\/p>\n

\u201cA fart joke is a fart joke, and that\u2019s for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if the language flies past you, the physical comedy won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you\u2026still feel lost in the whirlwind of the language, you\u2019ll definitely get at least several laughs because of how much physical comedy we\u2019ve embedded into the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

A company that knows its lane<\/p>\n

Both actors point to director\u00a0David Jenkins\u2019 collaborative style as the secret sauce. Rehearsals are built around play, experimentation, and trust\u2014essential ingredients for a farce that lives or dies on timing.<\/p>\n

Whitney sums it up simply:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t ever want to go up and do something where people don\u2019t understand what I\u2019m saying or what I\u2019m doing. That\u2019s not a good experience for anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/p>\n

This\u00a0\u201cComedy of Errors\u201d\u00a0isn\u2019t asking you to like Shakespeare. It\u2019s asking you to show up, sit down, and let the confusion do its thing.<\/p>\n

Fast. Physical. Intentionally silly. And smart enough to know that laughter is the best way in.<\/p>\n

Tickets for Jobsite Theater\u2019s \u201cThe Comedy of Errors\u201d\u00a0running Jan. 14\u2013Feb. 8 at David A. Straz Center\u2019s Jaeb Theater are still available are start at $21 before fees.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

This article appears in Dec. 25 \u2013 31, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kayla Witoshynsky (center) during the first blocking rehearsal for \u2018The Comedy of Errors,\u2019showing at Jobsite Theater in Tampa,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[53851,135,787,137,136],"class_list":["post-103587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-jobsite-theater","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-theater","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}