Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is a professional Shakespeare Company based on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas. Houston Shakespeare Festival opens their 49th season with Shakespeare's MACBETH. Little Rock, AR. Mark thy calendars! Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre kicks off month of Conway performances - The 2023 season of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is set to open in June with several productions planned for theater enthusiasts around the state. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre to announce season Friday Pendergraft has previously been seen performing on the AST stage in the Merry Wives of Windsor, Fiddler on the Roof, Love's Labour's Lostand The Music Man. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 orcalsfoundation@cals.org. The season will also include the madcap comedy, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) opening June 17, and for the very first time a musical variety show Shakespeare Cabaret opening June 22. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre We encourage our guests to park at the Main Building and walk (about 7 minutes) to the event area or utilize our shuttle, which will be running on a constant rotation. Stacy Pendergraft, associate professor in the UA Little Rock Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, is taking her career to new heights by directing the first Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre production to hit the stage since 2019. Third cast member Quinn Gasaway got his first onstage exposure to Shakespeare at age 8 in a production of "Romeo and Juliet," a collaboration between the now-defunct Shakespeare Festival of Arkansas and the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre. The season also includes the madcap comedy, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) opening June 17, and the inaugural musical variety show, Shakespeare Cabaret opening June 22. For more information or to register visit, ArkShakes.com/Education. CONWAY, AR The 2023 season of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is set to open June 15 with a production of Shakespeare's adventure-romance, "The Tempest" in the new Windgate Center for the Fine and Performing Arts on the University of Central Arkansas campus.. Enjoy an evening performance of Shakespeare in the Park. The Shakespeare Cabaret will tie music, comedy, and other variety acts together under a Shakespearean theme. . When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. An additional activity a one-hour interactive workshop led by managing director Chad Bradford and actor Xander Udochi will begin at 4 p.m. The cast includes Augustine Nguyen (credits include Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Arkansas Rep), Quinn Gasaway (credits include Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival, DreamLogic Theatre of Chicago, and others), and Heather Hooten (multiple credits around Arkansas and Tennessee). Theatre Tuscaloosa's Launch Day (Love Stories from the Year 2108) by Michael Higgins brought home two national awards from the American Association of Community Theatre national festival (AACTFest . Rialto Community Arts Center (9/22-10/01). 100 Rock Street Attendees are welcome to spread out blankets or bring lawn chairs, with provided seating being limited. Find event and ticket information. Four workshops on Shakespeare performance are provided throughout the day on Saturday. For additional information: This event is free and open to the public, though registration is required. For those looking to donate, AST organizers are planning to offer a sneak-peak of the season at AST Knights Night on June 9 at The Max Event Venue in downtown Conway. Individual and season tickets may be purchased atarkshakes.com. Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly. Ferdinand, believing his parent is dead, falls in love with Miranda (and vice versa) and drunken castaways Trinculo (Leah Smith) and Stephano (Riles Holiday), Alonsa's jester and butler, respectively, join forces with Caliban in a plot to kill Prospero and take over the island. The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (AST) in Conway (Faulkner County) is Arkansas's only professional Shakespeare theater company and is based at the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA).Its mission is to enrich the community of central Arkansas through creating professional productions of William Shakespeare's works and making them accessible to . Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. Copyright 2023 Winthrop Rockefeller Institute | Privacy Policy, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre at the Institute, Incarceration: Recidivism, Reentry and Reunification (iR3), Partnership for Democratic Practices in Arkansas, Securing Water & Food in a Changing World. "It really allows you to comment on what Shakespeare wrote," she notes. Emily Swenskie will act as youth director. Augustine Nguyen, Heather Hooten and Quinn Gasaway. "The pandemic hit all arts organizations in Arkansas particularly hard, so we are thrilled to bring a full season of professional theater all over the state!. The UCA lineup also includes four performances of the madcap comedy "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)" and two performances of an inaugural musical variety show called "Shakespeare Cabaret.". Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. Learn the basics of stage combat as you dive into Shakespeares texts to discover how he directed his fights through context, history, and embedded stage direction. Arkansas Repertory Theatre & Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre - Backstage To donate, go to arkshakes.com/donate. A couple of weeks out from opening, Duncan says, "Some things were fixed fairly early on; the idea is to bring the magic to life. "As we look forward, we are focused on strengthening our professional theatre foundation, building on our educational mission and leading and participating in the growth and expansion of the arts in central Arkansas.". Mark thy calendars! It's still in development, but the "Shakespeare Cabaret" will tie together music, comedy and variety acts within a Shakespearean theme. "It's basically the Bard meets Carol Burnett," Bradford explains. William Shakespeare's final solo stage piece, "The Tempest," holds center stage on the schedule as the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre opens its 2023 season Thursday in the new Windgate Center for . Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is a non-profit company located in Conway and operated with the support of the University of Central Arkansas. with Olivia Elease Hardy: KIMBERLY AKIMBO Wins Big at the Tonys. The show is noteworthy also for the phrases it introduced to the English language: "This rough magic," "brave new world," "the stuff that dreams are made on," "misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows," "what's past is prologue" and "Hell is empty and all the devils are here.". If you can, provide 1-2 sources of information backing up this correction. This years offering,The Complete Works of Williams Shakespeare (Abridged), will be performed at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10, near our Tennis Court by Lake Abby. Call ahead for ticket reservations. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Chad Bradford), Augustine Nguyen (from left), Heather Hooten and Quinn Gasaway enact all of Shakespeare's plays, with subtle and open hilarity, in "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)." The design team for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) includes Keagan Styes (Costume Designer) and Austin Aschbrenner (Scenic Designer). http://arkshakes.com (accessed April 4, 2022). LAB, which stands for learning and breakthroughs, will offer a six-week acting program for pre-K, middle and high school students in January. Shakespeares last great solo work, The Tempest, takes audiences on a journey to a remote island full of romance, magic, revenge, and redemption. Long time AST favorite and leading actor, Dan Matisa (credits include Off-Broadway shows, television and film credits, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and others) will direct the piece. The ASTs annual Arkansas Shakespeare Festival was featured in the New York Times in 2011 and 2012. His credits include the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and he has worked with Bradford and other Arkansas actors in the summer Shake on the Lake in Perry, N.Y. Hooten, who's from Conway and has acting credits across Arkansas and Tennessee, says the script is set up in such a way that "any actor can play one of the three roles," and that since in Shakespeare's day men played women, the performers can be of any gender. Duncan explains that the songs, monologues and "other Shakespeare things" will fit within framed narrative that "the characters bring to life." Share. Will power: In 11th season, Shakespeare Theatre stages fresh approaches Love's Labour's Lost. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. After a two-year hiatus, the Arkansas Shakespeare Theater (AST) returns for the summer of 2022 with one of the bard's most beloved works, "Much Ado About Nothing." Long time AST favorite and leading actor, Dan Matisa (credits include Off-Broadway shows, television and film credits, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and others) will direct the piece. Trieschmann, Werner. Arkansas Shakespeare Theater: The Complete Works of Shakespeare Emily Swenskie will act as youth director. Michael J. Riha, chair and professor of theatre at the UofA, says engaging professionals from across the state is a great way to encourage unification. Campers will study acting, improvisation, stage combat . Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre Announces 2023 Season Its mission is to enrich the community of central Arkansas through creating professional productions of William Shakespeares works and making them accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Creating an account gives you access to all these features. Follow us on social media to get updates on all the exciting news about our next season! Last year, the company produced a single show, "Much Ado About Nothing" and had to cancel its 2020 and 2021 season . Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre announces cast, directors, production The season also includes the madcap . As such, all donors will have their name printed in the season program and have access to the inside scoop on all of our activities and news. The show is also set up to tour; in addition to its runs in Conway and Fayetteville, it's scheduled Friday for the Hot Springs Farmers Market and July 6 at The Joint Comedy Theatre in North Little Rock's Argenta district, and to several other venues in the fall. Its crucial to ensure you wear a helmet while bike riding, but there are a few other items you can consider to boost safety. Event tickets are $20 and can be purchased on the AST website. In this one-hour Family Shakespeare adaptation, Beatrice and Benedick have sworn off love and each other. Individual and season tickets may be purchased at arkshakes.com. While the two-year hiatus has been a huge disappointment, it has also given us a chance to reflect, reimagine and build new connections," said Shauna Meador, executive managing producer of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre. UCA News - Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre to announce season at 'Sounds "We are grateful to play a role in building the theatre community right here in Arkansas," Riha said. Shakespeare in the Park "The Tempest": In Conway, 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday and June 23; 2 p.m. Saturday and June 25; in Fayetteville: 7:30 p.m. June 30, 2 p.m. July 1, "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)": In Conway, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Tuesday-Wednesday, 2 p.m. June 24; in Fayetteville, 2 p.m. June 30, 7:30 p.m. July 1, "The Shakespeare Cabaret": In Conway, 7:30 p.m. June 22 and 24, Conway performances: James M. Bridges Black Box Theatre, Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts, University of Central Arkansas, 2150 Bruce St. at Donaghey Avenue. The show will be directed by Morgan Hicks (co-founder and Arts Engagement Director at TheatreSquared) and will feature Selena Mykenzie Gordon (semi-finalist on Americas Got Talent and lead vocalist on Cirque Dreams Holidaze) as Miranda, Steven Marzolf (credits include La Jolla Playhouse, Steppenwolf, Old Globe, and others) as Prospero, Betsy Jilka (credits include Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Trike Theatre, and others) as Iris, and Jordan Williams (credits include New Stage Company and stand-up comedy venues around the country) as Ferdinand. For more information or to register, visitarkshakes.com/education. JUNE 14, 2022. However, if you are, Roger Eaves assured us that it was accurate to the original story. Get your tickets now! The AST has employed several local actors and production crew members, as well as a few Broadway, off-Broadway, and television actors and crew members. Matt Chiorini, who is originally from California and holds an MFA in theater from Harvard University, was the founding producing artistic director, serving through the 2011 performance season. "They cover all the shows in the first act, and then they realize they've forgotten 'Hamlet,'" Matisa explains. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre announces 2023 season cast, directors For more information, visit theDepartment of Theatre onlineor emailtheatre@uark.edufor assistance. To close the season this summer, AST announced it will travel to Fayetteville in partnership with the University of Arkansas to open on June 30 for a limited run at the Global Campus Theatre. William Shakespeare's final solo stage piece, "The Tempest," holds center stage on the schedule as the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre opens its 2023 season Thursday in the new Windgate Center for the Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. That's somewhere between 10 and a dozen cast members, including Duncan and "Tempest" players Smith and Holiday. Its time to bring out those bell bottoms and platform shoes as Murrys Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Col Glenn Rd, in Little Rock, groovily presents JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, now through August 12. Casting Equity performers for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre and Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre's 2020 seasons. As it happens, Antonio is on board a ship with Alonsa (Na'Tosha Devon), the ruler of Naples, and her son, Ferdinand (Jordan Williams), that is passing near the island; Prospero, who has in his exile become a powerful magician, causes a storm that wrecks the ship and casts the survivors on the island's shores. Several UCA faculty members became involved in running the AST. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council. The Bard of Avon is believed to have written "The Tempest," his autumnal and sometimes considered problematic adventure-romance, in 1610-11; its first performance came in 1611. The Bard is back: 'Tempest' center of the season - The 2023 season of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is set to open in June with several productions planned for theater enthusiasts around the state. This fast-paced, fun, and frantic piece will have a limited tour around the state and is currently scheduled for The Winthrop Rockefeller Institute June 10, the Hot Springs Farmers Market June 16, and The Joint Comedy Theatre in Argenta July 6. And, "It makes Shakespeare less scary," Hooten explains. The show asks what Shakespeare would think if he were alive in 2023 and where would he find inspiration. Were excited to welcome back another family-friendly performance from our friends at the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre. Get the best news & discounts for Arkansas Shows & beyond. Nguyen has appeared most recently on the stage of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, as an understudy in "Little Shop of Horrors" and as part of the ensemble in "Guys and Dolls." Other cast members in The Tempest include Grace Taylor as Ariel, Gabriel Franco-Kull as Sebastian, Ben Grimes as Antonio, NaTosha Devon as Alonso, Adam Frank as Gonzalo, Bryan Alstatt as Adrian, Ashton Fritzges as Francisco, Leah Smith as Trinculo, Nick Carpenter as Caliban, Riles Holiday as Stephano, Lauren Carlton as Juno, and Holly Ruth Gale as Ceres. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre returns for the summer of 2022 with one of Shakespeare's most beloved works, Much Ado About Nothing. The performers don't want to give anything away, but Holiday says it will include one piece currently being developed by the "Tempest" cast. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Max in The Producers, Othello, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Taming of the Shrew, Sound of Music). The return of the festival also brings a new partnership with the U of A in Fayetteville. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is excited to offer Summer Education LAB for the Summer of 2023. 15, 2023. Click here for directions to the Global Campus Theatre. The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (AST) will also reveal the 2023 AST season. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre returns for Summer 2022 The middle and high school classes will focus on acting and performance; the Bard Babies class will lead students ages 4-6 through imaginative play with games . MEET THE 2019 CAST. Paige Reynolds, a professor in the English department at UCA, has been involved in the AST since she began its dramaturgy program in 2008 and has performed in several of the productions. We are excited to produce a full season of shows here at AST for the first time since 2019, AST Managing Director Chad Bradford said. Shakespeare's last great solo work, The Tempest, takes audiences on a journey to a remote island full of romance, magic, revenge, and redemption. Family Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet "O, much I fear some ill unlucky thing." . (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Eric E. Harrison), Jordan Williams plays Ferdinand with Selena Mykenzie Gordon as Miranda in the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre's production of "The Tempest."