Artfarm Presents SHAKESPEARE'S ARGUMENT, 7/14-24

ARTFARM, Middletown's only professional theater company, is celebrating its tenth birthday and the sixth season of Shakespeare in the Grove by re-mounting the original piece Shakespeare's Argument in a revised and expanded form. The piece will be staged July 14 - 17 and 21 - 24 in the beautiful grove overlooking the Connecticut River valley on the campus of Middlesex Community College

"Shakespeare's Argument was initially performed in the summer of 2001 as ARTFARM's first offering to the world," says ARTFARM Artistic Director and co-founder Marcella Trowbridge. "We feel the piece deserves a second look and a wider audience."

The fast-paced piece features four characters - an Actor, a Professor, a Producer and a Groundling, or audience member -- arguing over why Shakespeare is so revered. As the debate heats up they perform scenes, songs and monologues from over a dozen Shakespeare plays.

Trowbridge commissioned local playwright Jean Wertz to edit and expand the original fifty minute script into a full length piece. Wertz has added more Shakespeare, more music and strengthened the play's through-line. Musical Director Joseph Getter, back for his sixth season leading the Shakespeare in the Grove orchestra, will be creating original music as well using some classic Shakespeare songs.

This family-friendly Shakespearean Feast will be served at 7 pm on July 14 - 17 and 21 - 24 in the Grove at Middlesex Community College, 100 Training Hill Road, Middletown. Live music, featuring some of Connecticut's top musical acts, will start at 6 pm each evening; attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs and enjoy a picnic on the hillside above the Connecticut River.

ARTFARM is a non-profit organization, founded in 2001, which cultivates high-quality theater with a commitment to simple living, environmental sustainability and social justice. In addition to its annual Shakespeare productions, ARTFARM's Circus for a Fragile Planet, a touring environmental educational circus, reaches over 4000 students throughout the northeast every year, and ARTFARM artists teach in schools and after school programs throughout the state.

Shakespeare in the Grove is a pay if you can event. Suggested donation is $20 per person.
Shakespeare in the Grove is co-sponsored by the Humanities and Arts Division of MxCC and is supported by the Middletown Commission on the Arts, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and Pratt & Whitney.

For information call (860) 346-4390, email info@art-farm.org or go to www.art-farm.org.

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