‘NOTHING’ IS REALLY SOMETHING: Nearly all of Shakespeare’s plays get regular readings around here. But few of them see more stage time than Much Ado About Nothing. Nothing wrong with that – people love it. And from the sounds of the reviews, people will really love Stolen Shakespeare Guild’s current production. “All it takes to do Shakespeare well is a capable director and cast who love and understand the texts, as is the case with the [Stolen Shakespeare’s] current production,” writes Punch Shaw on dfw.com. M. Lance Lusk was equally charmed at theaterjones.com, writing, “The directors’ interpretation is a simple and conventional one, which is refreshing and appreciated at a time when too many directors constantly try to jazz up Shakespeare with offbeat settings, outlandish costumes and contemporary music.”

JACK OF ALL TRADES: Jeffrey Schmidt is a triple threat if ever there was one. He acts on, directs and even builds many of our area’s stages. Lately, he’s been primarily adding to the set-design area of his resume with a focus on building from recycled material. That’s the approach he took with Echo Theatre’s current End Days. “It’s partly economics – it’s frustrating how much gets wasted when you’re building something that will just last for six weeks. So much goes into the Dumpster,” he tells dallasnews.com. “At this point, it shouldn’t be a novelty to recycle.”

ODDS ‘N’ ENDS: The Dallas Center for Architecture passes along a link to a story about Santiago Calatrava – he of the Calatrava Bridge fame – and his next career move as a set designer. (dallascfa.com) … Preston Jones spent some time poking through the massive South by Southwest schedule to piece together a subschedule of when our local acts will play. Consider this a clip and save if you’re headed down there next month. (dfw.com) … The San Antonio Symphony will name German conductor Sebastian Lang-Lessing its new music director today. (mysanantonio.com)