FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 2, 2003
Media Contact: Elizabeth Davis
Boardman Davis Communications
(802) 244-6425
edavis@boardmandavis.com

CABOT TURNS "MUCH ADO" INTO "BIG WHOOP" WITH FREE SCRIPT FOR HIGH SCHOOL THEATER GROUPS

Montpelier, Vt - Big Whoop About Zip - a 21st Century adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, brought down the house in Williamstown, Vermont at its debut on May 23, but it is Cabot Creamery's plan to make the play available free to high school students around the country that will earn a standing ovation.

When current issues, characters and themes-including hip hop, drug prevention, soccer, and even President Bush-update Shakespeare's comedy classic, the laughs just get bigger. Big Whoop About Zip, which was commissioned by the dairy farmers who own Cabot Creamery, will be available beginning this summer to any high school drama group interested in performing the play. Thanks to the power of the World Wide Web, the script, poster, program, promotion materials, and ticket art, plus media tips on promoting the production, are available for free to any high school. In exchange, each school pledges to credit the play's presentation to the dairy farmers that own Cabot Creamery and run a Cabot ad in the play handbill.

"Cabot has a long history of supporting community activities, particularly for families and teens," said Richard Stammer, President of Cabot Cheese. "Through technology and the web, Cabot is able to take this investment made in one neighboring community and make it available to all the communities that sell our farmers' products."

"The play works for any school regardless of budget," said Big Whoop Coach Marie Frohlich. "We tested all the elements at Williamstown High School in Vermont-a small, public school that does not have a drama class or even a stage. The kids and faculty put on the entire production for under $500 and it was outstanding."
Written by Roberta Harold of Montpelier, Vermont, Big Whoop About Zip is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Harold is a writer, consultant and Shakespeare aficionado active in community theater in Vermont. She is a 1999 graduate of the Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury College, where she studied playwriting, fiction and poetry, as well as Shakespeare and modern drama.
Big Whoop About Zip will be available from Cabot's web site at www.cabotcheese.com this summer. Schools, drama clubs, teachers, and actors looking for more information should check out Cabot's web site or contact the Big Whoop Coach at coach@bigwhoopaboutzip.com or 802-433-6102.