Shakespeare on the Plaza at The Vortex Theatre

The Vortex Theatre and the City of Albuquerque (Cultural Services Division) are partnering to produce Shakespeare outdoors in the summer of 2014.

Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be performed by a single company of actors over a four week period, June 20—July 13.

The productions will be in Albuquerque's Civic Plaza, where the large covered stage will be remade into an intimate space, a perfect place to experience Shakespeare's incomparable love poetry on a summer night.

The directors are Billy Trabaudo (Romeo and Juliet), a young director with an ear for the music of young love, and Salome Martínez Lutz (A Midsummer Night's Dream), well-known for producing modern and classic Hispanic drama as well as zarzuela. They promise to bring fresh visions to these popular classics.

The new project will be "repertory theatre" in several senses. The actors will work in a repertory company, everyone appearing in both plays. And the repertory will "revolve" with Romeo opening first, followed by Dream, and on into alternating nights.

But it is also intended to be an Albuquerque Shakespeare festival, one with popular prices, a diverse acting company, and localized, relevant productions that bring Shakespeare right into "the Plaza" of Albuquerque and New Mexico. Look for Shakespeare as you've rarely seen him in New Mexico!