Directors with Olympic Peninsula HomeConnection (OPHC) are poised to launch their 11th student Shakespeare play this spring — Much Ado About Nothing — with opening night scheduled for April 26.

This year’s performance is bittersweet, said co-director Carla Powell,  as it marks both a comeback from and a reminder of last year’s tragic loss of co-director Consuelo Brennan.

Last spring, directors Brennan, Franco Bertucci, Carla and Rowan Powell wrapped up their 10th Shakespeare play with Coriolanus. Many on the cast played dual roles, and this, coupled with swordplay and the inherent difficulties of Shakespearean English, made this, according to Carla Powell, one of the most challenging plays to date. But they were wrong.

Two and a half weeks after the cast party, Brennan suffered a life-ending stroke.  Stricken with grief, Powell said that she could not face directing a play without Brennan, and waited to decide whether to pursue a production this year until well after school started. Powell said she ultimately looked for cues from her students on how to proceed.

“I could tell that they didn’t want to pressure me,” Powell said, “but it was very apparent that they wanted to do a play this year. I knew if we were to do a play, it should be a comedy.”

Students, parents and teachers have been supported by grief counselors, Powell said, to help the cast and crew move forward.

OPHC students last performed Much Ado About Nothing in 2012. This year’s performance is co-directed directed by Carla Powell, Franco Bertucci, Rowan Powell and Maggie Kelley. OPHC graduates Kai Campell, Peter Sanok, and Anna Munn are coaching students one-on-one, giving them a chance to share theater knowledge they learned from Brennan during their tenure in the program.

When asked what OPHC theater means to her, Ruby Groussman, a Port Townsend eighth-grader, said “family” without hesitation. This year marks Groussman’s fifth year acting in OPHC productions

The students, directors, volunteer parents and alumni all work together from January through April to create a full Shakespeare production, and in doing so, they build a little theater family.

Emily Hales, a Port Angeles seventh-grader, said, “It’s exciting, fun and builds my confidence.”  This year marks Hales’ second year on stage for OPHC’s annual Shakespeare play.

This year’s cast includes: Zephyr Beil, Isabella Bertucci, Cricket Douglas, Hudson Douglas, Ruby Groussman, Daniel Hales, Emily Hales, Gideon Hales, Alivia Halverson, Evelyn Halverson, Kaylee Klebanow, Lila Mahan, Thomas Mahan, Belen Martinez, Joaquin Martinez, Gabi Palenik, Leif Staley, Ayla Leonard-Stephens, Ariana Stewart and Tristan Stewart.

The musicians are alumni and co-directors Rowen Powell and Chloe Leonard-Stephens. Olympic Peninsula HomeConnection is a parent partnership program through the Crescent School District in Joyce, Wash.

There will be five performances: April 26-27 and May 2-4. The performances will be hosted at the San Juan Baptist Church in Port Townsend. Admission is by donation, with $5 per ticket as the suggested amount.