Abington Art Center, Pulley & Buttonhole Theatre Company, and White Pines Productions announce the return of Shakespeare in the Summer with an Original Practices Production of Much Ado About Nothing to be presented August 2, 3, 4 2016 on the lawn of Alverthorpe Manor at the Abington Art Center. Gates open at 6:00 pm for a 7:00 performance. Adult admission is $10, and kids get in free! The three arts organizations are excited to once again bring an affordable opportunity for audiences of all ages to experience the beauty of Shakespeare’s language in the beauty of the great outdoors. More information about the event and advance tickets can be found at www.shakespeareinthesummer.wordpress.com.
Original Practices is a new approach to presenting Shakespeare, meant to imitate the way Shakespeare’s own company prepared his plays, and to rediscover a spontaneity, joy, and immediacy in performance. The show is cast, scripts distributed, and lines are learned without rehearsal. The actors will gather weekly under the guidance of Benjamin Lloyd, Executive Director of White Pines, to play games, study the play, learn techniques, and create an ensemble. They will not run lines, work out movement or “run the play.” As Benjamin says, “we are attempting to imitate the way Shakespeare’s actors prepared his plays for performance. Original Practices is scary at first, but brings an unmatched spontaneity to performances.” Every performance is a new experience for the audience and the ensemble.
In addition, Chrissie Leech of JENKINTOWN DANCE ARTS will once again work with the ensemble and children’s corps to create the masquerade ball. Bridget Reilly Beauchamp, Artistic Director of Pulley & Buttonhole says, “we adore collaborating with Chrissie–her ideas are fun and challenging. She manages to get even those of us with two left feet to look like we know what we’re doing!” Local jazz musician ALEX BARTLETT will play a mix of original compositions and jazz standards live throughout the performance nightly.
Abington Art Center is looking forward to once again hosting this band of motley players. Laura Burnham of AAC says, “this is the sort of thing we love here. Being able to come together with other local arts organizations to give our neighbors a chance to experience something exciting is what we’re here for.” Everyone involved, from every organization, relishes the chance to collaborate on bringing one of Shakespeare’s most beloved works into our 21st century world.
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