NorthEast Shakespeare Combines Classics During Their New Double BIll Season

For its sixth season, the NorthEast Shakespeare Ensemble will present Shakespeare's highly popular play, Comedy of Errors, in repertory with Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, at the Lebanon Opera House from June 18 through July 4. With its first "double bill" season, NESE fulfills a long-standing artistic goal to bring Shakespeare and the best of the classics to our region each summer.

John Goodlin, NESE's Artistic Director, will direct Comedy of Errors. He has directed NESE's productions of Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream and last season's Much Ado About Nothing. During the 2005 season, he played the leading role of Weller Martin in NESE's first non-Shakespearean production, The Gin Game, and in 2007 took on the title role of King Lear.

Waiting for Godot will be directed by guest director William Michael Maher. Bill directed The Gin Game for NESE's 2005 season, and has worked around the world as a producer, director, choreographer, writer, designer, stage manager and actor in a medley of arenas.

Joining NESE's directing team this season will be a talented array of local theatre artists including composer William Ögmundson of North Sutton, NH and choreographer Ruth Mayer of Thetford, VT, returning to NESE for their fourth and third seasons, respectively.

William, who runs Three Oaks Piano Studio in North Sutton, NH, has soloed with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, and performed at venues throughout Europe, including Notre Dame de Paris and Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. He is also organist and choir director at the First Congregational Church of Lebanon. His compositions were featured in the 2007 K.A.T. production Hope is Like a Feather, and his first full-length musical Pollyanna premiered in January 2008 at Plymouth State University.

Ruth worked under the direction of such legends as Agnes De Mille, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. She performed with the American Ballet Theatre (1969 to 1984), rising to the rank of soloist and touring North America and Europe (Romeo and Juliet, La Sylphide, and Giselle). She has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Spoleto Festival in Italy, and locally with Revels North and the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble. She has taught at the Lebanon Ballet School and Dartmouth's Hopkins Center Dance Program.

Filling the key role of Production Manager/Technical Director is Cami Buster of Fairlee, VT. Cami has been a carpenter in the Upper Valley for almost 25 years, building and designing sets for Opera North, Parish Players, and North Country Community Theatre, among others. This is Cami's third season with NESE.
Additional members of NESE's talented production team are Elizabeth Montmagny (costume design) and William Cleland (lighting design). Elizabeth has worked with Opera North, Green Mountain Opera Festival, Lebanon High School Wet Paint Players, and North Country Community Theater. She is studying music education at Plymouth State University. William has worked with North Country Community Theater, Circus Smirkus, Revels North, City Center Ballet, Opera North, The Hopkins Center, and the Flynn Theater in Burlington, VT. His creative abilities also extend to his growing photography business.

Evening performances of Comedy begin at 8 PM on June 18, 19, 20, 25, and 27 and July 3, with matinees on June 21 and July 1 starting at 2 PM. Evening performances of Waiting for Godot also begin at 8 PM on June 24, 26, and 30 and July 2, with matinees on June 28 and July 4 starting at 2 PM. Tickets are priced from $16 to $30, with group rates available. For ticket inquiries, contact the Lebanon Opera House Box Office at 603-448-0400 or visit: www.lebanonoperahouse.org For more information about NESE, visit www.NESEtheatre.org or email: info@NESEtheatre.org

"WAITING FOR GODOT is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC."
The NorthEast Shakespeare Ensemble (NESE), celebrating six seasons of enriching our community, is a non-profit professional repertory theatre company formed to bring Shakespeare and "the best of the classics" to scenic New Hampshire each summer.

Need more New Hampshire Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...