Tag Archives: William Shakespeare

On Twelfth Night – a look ahead to 2020 Arkansas Shakespeare Theater’s lineup

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Today is Twelfth Night. Since it is also the title of one of Shakespeare’s most-produced plays, it seems a good chance to preview the 2020 Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre season.

While they HAVE produced Twelfth Night, it is not part of the 2020 season.

The lineup DOES include: As You Like It, Into the Woods (based on the writings of my relatives the Brothers Grimm), as well as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).

Performances will take place on the UCA campus, both in Reynolds Performance Hall and outdoors on the lawn of McAlister Hall.

As she prepares for her ninth year as producing artistic director of AST, Rebekah Scallet said she wanted an exciting repertory season that would capture audiences’ imaginations and challenge them to think about their lives. She chose the three shows in the 2020 season based around the theme “Sweet are the uses of adversity,” a line from “As You Like It.”

Actors, directors, designers and crew members will arrive in Conway in early May 2020 to begin the process of creating the three shows in AST’s 14th season.

“We’ll open the season with ‘The Complete Works’ outdoors on the beautiful lawn of McAlister Hall. Our outdoor venue draws huge crowds, and our audiences look forward to the show and the entire experience of Shakespeare under the stars. We hope that theatre-goers in Arkansas and around the region will recognize AST for its dedication to the cultural and artistic growth that is currently underway in our state,” said Marotte.

Performance dates will be announced in coming weeks.

Mary Ruth Marotte is the Executive Director and Rebekah Scallet is the Producing Artistic Director.

A trio of offerings mark 2020 Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre season

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Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (AST) has announced its 2020 season of professional theatre.

“The 2020 season will feature Shakespeare’s delightful comedy ‘As You Like It,’ the beautiful and intriguing musical ‘Into the Woods’ and the hilarious mashup ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),’” said Mary Ruth Marotte, AST’s executive director.

Performances will take place on the UCA campus, both in Reynolds Performance Hall and outdoors on the lawn of McAlister Hall.

As she prepares for her ninth year as producing artistic director of AST, Rebekah Scallet said she wanted an exciting repertory season that would capture audiences’ imaginations and challenge them to think about their lives. She chose the three shows in the 2020 season based around the theme “Sweet are the uses of adversity,” a line from “As You Like It.”

Actors, directors, designers and crew members will arrive in Conway in early May 2020 to begin the process of creating the three shows in AST’s 14th season.

“We’ll open the season with ‘The Complete Works’ outdoors on the beautiful lawn of McAlister Hall. Our outdoor venue draws huge crowds, and our audiences look forward to the show and the entire experience of Shakespeare under the stars. We hope that theatre-goers in Arkansas and around the region will recognize AST for its dedication to the cultural and artistic growth that is currently underway in our state,” said Marotte.

The remaining two productions will be performed in UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall.

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is the state’s only professional Shakespeare company and is proud to make its home on the UCA campus. Each summer, AST offers full productions of Shakespeare’s works, as well as other plays and musicals that help fulfill AST’s mission to entertain, engage and enrich the community. For more information, visit arkshakes.com or call (501) 852-0702.

Shakespeare 101 Workshop planned by Education at the Rep

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Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, people sitting, living room, shoes and indoorIn the immortal words of Cole Porter:

If you can’t be a ham and do Hamlet

They will not give a damn or a damlet

The Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s Education at The Rep program is offering a chance to “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” in a Shakespeare 101 Workshop on Monday, September 9.

The Bard of Avon would doubtlessly be mortified to know that he is often viewed with disdain because most persons exposure to him was in stiflingly dull English classes. There is so much more than just reciting in a sing-song voice “Two house-holds both a-like in dig-ni-teeee…”  (Go back and look at the photo above.  The people are smiling while discussing Shakespeare.)

Learn the basics of The Bard from Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre‘s Artistic Director, Rebekah Scallet. This workshop introduces foundational skills including iambic pentameter and scansion, poetry and prose, and rhetorical devices. Explore Shakespeare’s vocabulary and learn to use the clues found in his punctuation and text to help reveal meaning and intention. A perfect first introduction to working with Shakespeare and heightened text.

Recommended for those who plan to take the Shakespeare Scene Study course without previous experience: https://www.therep.org/education/fall-classes/shakespeare-scene-study-adult/.

SHAKESPEARE 101 WORKSHOP
Monday, September 9, from 7 – 9 p.m.
Tuition: $15
Age: Adult
Instructor: Rebekah Scallet

$2 Terror Tuesdays at CALS Ron Robinson Theater – Tonight is 1959’s THE WASP WOMAN

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The Wasp Woman Poster$2 Terror Tuesdays continue tonight (7/16) at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater with 1959’s THE WASP WOMAN.

“If I be waspish, best beware my sting.” – The Taming of the Shrew

No, tonight’s film is not a re-telling of Shakespeare’s classic battle of the sexes.  Would that it were.

The Wasp Woman is a 1959 American science fiction horror film, produced and directed by Roger Corman. A cosmetics queen is transformed into a murderous monster after she uses an insect chemical to preserve her beauty.  (But parts of the current version appear to have been filmed sometime in the early 1960s given some of the vehicles clearly visible.)

The showing starts at 7pm.  Cost is $2.

“It’s Good to be King: Staging and Status in Shakespeare” is topic of Chad Bradford talk for Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre

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How does Shakespeare seek to convey status onstage?

Join AST Artistic Collective member Chad Bradford in an interactive talk about stage directions and status in the Elizabethan era.

Originally from Little Rock, Chad is a director, actor, and composer based out of New York City. Chad is a member of Actor’s Equity Association and has had the privilege to work all across the country.

Chad is currently the Associate Artistic Director for Shake on the Lake Shakespeare in Western New York.  During his time there he has directed RICHARD III, TWELFTH NIGHT, A MISDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, THE SANTALAND DIARIES, and ROMEO AND JULIET.

The discussion will take place in McAlister Hall’s Mirror Room, UCA. The program starts at 5pm.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS kicks of 2019 Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre season

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AST2019_TheComedyOfErrors_FinalLogo.pngThe Comedy of Errors launches the 2019 season of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre.

​A tragic shipwreck, two sets of twins divided at birth, mistaken identities, and unrequited love provide the perfect recipe for fun in this Shakespearean farce. The fates bring the brothers and their long-lost father Aegeon together in the land of Ephesus with hilarious results.

Performances started last night (June 7) and continue tonight (June 8), June 9, June 23, June 26, June 29, and July 4. They take place at 7:30pm on the lawn at UCA, across from the President’s House.

The cast includes Paige Reynolds, Chad Bradford, Benjamin Reed, Chris Firtzges, Keith Illidge, Rebecca Brudner, Verda Davenport, Justin Jones, Kyle Clark, Chris Farrell Jr., Corrie Green, Charlotte Mae Ellison, Jack Hradecky, and Saxon Whitehead.

The production is directed by Jack Young.  He is the Artistic Director of Houston Shakespeare Festival, and leads the University of Houston’s MFA Professional Actor Training Program.

Rebekah Scallet is the Producing Artistic Director and Mary Ruth Marotte is the Executive Director.

Shake a Spear, or What You Will on Shakespeare’s Birthday

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Today is the traditional birthday of William Shakespeare. It seems a good chance to preview the 2019 Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre season.

The lineup includes: The Comedy of Errors (the first Shakespeare play I ever read), The Scottish Play (sorry, but I don’t want to invoke the curse so I won’t write or say the title), as well as a streamlined version of Romeo and Juliet for families.  Also on tap, in the non-Shakespeare musical slot is Guys and Dolls.

Here is more about each show.
The Comedy of Errors
A tragic shipwreck, two sets of twins divided at birth, mistaken identities, and unrequited love provide the perfect recipe for fun in this Shakespearean farce. The fates bring the brothers and their long-lost father Aegeon together in the land of Ephesus with hilarious results.
Outside on the lawn at UCA – Performances June 7, 8, 9, 23, 26, 29, and July 4

Guys and Dolls
A Musical Fable of Broadway
Based on a Story and Characters of Damon Runyon
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
High-rolling gambler Sky Masterson never took a bet he couldn’t win, until he met the no-nonsense Sarah Brown, a mission worker set on redeeming the sinners of Broadway. While fellow gambler Nathan Detroit has his own hands full with his fourteen year engagement to Miss Adelaide. It’s the audience who wins in this delightful musical of love and luck!
On-stage in Reynolds Performance Hall – Performances June 15, 16, 23, 25, 28, 30 (twice), and July 2, 4, and 6.

[The Scottish Play]
Brave warrior The Thane of Cawdor emerges victorious from battle to be greeted by three witches who hail him as the future king of Scotland. What follows is a dizzying descent into political machinations, murder, and madness.
On-stage in Reynolds Performance Hall.  Performances are June 21, 22, 27, 29 and July 3, 5, and 7.

Family Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
The fighting families of Montague and Capulet put their feud before their children’s happiness in Shakespeare’s classic tale of “star-crossed” young love, reimagined for audiences of all ages in this one-hour adaptation.
On-stage in Reynolds Performance Hall.  Also available to tour.  Performances are June 26, 28, 29 and July 2 and 4.

Mary Ruth Marotte is the Executive Director and Rebekah Scallet is the Producing Artistic Director.