Project Shakespeare’s 2022 summer season includes two shows.
PS Too! for ages 7 to 14 is presenting “Shakespeare Gone Mad!” conceived and directed by advanced PS students Helen Martynuska, Indigo Wolf and Aurora Sousa. This presentation is a series of scenes and monologues focusing on Shakespearean characters who have crossed the line into madness. Included in this presentation are scenes from “Hamlet,” “Twelfth Night,” “The Comedy of Errors,” “Macbeth,” “King Lear,” “As You Like It” and “Richard III.”
PS Mainstage for ages 8 to 18 will present Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew,” directed by founder and director Deborah Shakespeare Thurber, with Kali Zaffrann as stage manager and interns Josie Goodwin from High Mowing and Audrey Young from ConVal High School. Nicolas Hatfield will be the sound operator as well as coordinate props.
Baptista’s daughter, the sweet-tempered Bianca, can have her pick of suitors, but not until her elder sharp-tongued sister, Kate, marries. Rising to the challenge is the gold-digging brute Petruchio. They are a perfect match in wit and will, but can they tame their “inner shrew”? “The Taming of the Shrew” is often called “the battle of the sexes” but this production will explore the roles people play and who they are underneath.
The Project Shakespeare company includes BraydenBoice, Maya Fredrickson, Travis Hatfield, LilliHelsel, EleanoraKishinersky, Madeline Latini, Eliana Ludlum, Seamus Malloy, Helen Martynuska, Benjamin Michaud, Max Michaud, LifPetrova, Miranda Pipitone, Emmy Ratcliffe, Morgan Ratcliffe, Aram Russell, Jem Russell, KateriSaginario, Magdalen Saginario, Monica Saginario, Corbin Sanders, Aurora Sousa and Indigo Wolf.
Performances are as follows:
-- Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, July 27 (July 28 rain date).
-- Garden Sanctuary/ Dublin Community Church, Dublin, July 29 (Aug. 1 rain date).
-- Jaffrey Civic Center Lawn, Jaffrey, July 31, (Aug. 11 rain date).
-- Hancock Town Commons, Hancock, Aug. 3 (Aug. 7 rain date).
-- Peterborough Community Center Lawn, Elm Street, Peterborough, Aug. 4 (Aug. 8 rain date).
-- New Ipswich Congregational Church, New Ipswich Aug. 5 (Aug. 9 rain date).
-- Robin Hood Amphitheatre, Keene, Aug. 6, (Aug. 10 rain date).
All performances are at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Reservations are requested. Go to projectshakespeare.org for information and to make reservations.
A special performance is set for Aldworth Manor in Harrisville Tuesday, July 26 (Aug. 2 rain date), including a dinner and performance on the lawn at Aldworth Manor. Tickets are $60. To make reservations, send email to projectshakespeare@gmail.com.
Founded in 1994, Project Shakespeare is an intensive theater experience offering professional instruction using voice, movement and acting to help students experience Shakespeare’s language in action. From the printed page to the stage, students face the challenge of learning how to translate the written word into a theatrical experience.
For details, contact Deborah Shakespeare Thurber at projectshakespeare@gmail.com or visit projectshakespeare.org.