Midsummer Shakespeare is back, and the Bard's most well-known comedy, "Much Ado About Nothing" will be performed for free over the next two weeks.

Shows will take place on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday until Aug. 2. Performances start at 6:30 p.m. in the Lillian Gregerman Band Shell.

Like other Shakespeare comedies, the play includes mistaken identities, elaborate schemes, a faked death and impersonations that keep the play light and fun.

Jess Wilson, director and actress, is one of the original founders of the Shakespeare summer project which began four years ago. During its first year, the production only ran for two weeks. Since then, the production has been running for four weeks during the summer.

It is hosted in part by the Onset Bay Association. Cast members include new and returning actors from around the area.

Garrett Olson of Pembroke is new to Shakespeare entirely. A close friend of Wilson's, Olson was called to play the character Dogberry, a self-satisfied night constable, after one member of the production couldn't perform anymore. He only had one and a half weeks of practice before the production debuted.

"[The cast was] just so welcoming and within a day or two I felt like I'd been rehearsing as long as they'd rehearsed," he said. "It made the experience of Shakespeare a gentle one."

Though Olson has been adamant against playing in a Shakespeare production, he said he's having fun with this one and it's mostly because of the "wonderful" cast.

He's enjoyed working under Wilson and said the production has also challenged him as an actor.

"I have a new respect for actors who do Shakespeare."