HAMLET Set To Stalk The Firestone Stage

William Shakepeare's enduring masterpiece of revenge, passion, and deception, Hamlet, is set to take life on stage for three performances in November. The play is under the direction of guest director Tess Burgler, managing director of Akron's Ohio Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Hamlet features the story of a Danish prince who returns home to find his father killed and his mother marrying the murderer. When his father's ghost rises to demand retribution, he is put in an impossible situation. Performances of Hamlet will be held at 7:30 p.m. November 21, 22, and 23, 2019, in the Linda B. Kersker Auditorium at Firestone CLC. General admission tickets to Hamlet are $8.00 in advance, $10.00 at the door, and $12.00 for reserved, VIP seating. All tickets are currently available online and at the door on the night of performance. These performances of Hamlet represent the latest in a long line of Shakespearean plays presented as on ongoing effort to educate our students as performers, technicians, and audience members to the magic and mystery of the Bard's greatest works.

The cast of Hamlet is led by senior Morgan Bedilion (Hamlet). She is supported by seniors Skylar Brucknell (Gertrude), Jillian Foster (Player), Jonathan Green (Ghost/Grave Digger/Osric), Ethan Korvne (Laertes) and Oscar Laakso (Polonius). Other members of the cast include juniors Timmy Owens (Player) Alexis Robles (Player Queen); sophomores Constance Hairston (Player King), Ilona Kitchen (Priest), Peter Kolodziej (Bernardo), Lanese Lewis (Sailor), Olyvia Raber (Ophelia), eMJay Ross (Claudius), Max Smith (Marcellus), Jamir Tompkins (Guildenstern) and Elena Varner-Waltz (Horatio); and freshmen Jackson Bird (Lucianus / Francisco), Fiona Coughlin (Rosencrantz), Mel Searle (Player), and Mena Stauch (Reynaldo). Senior Liev Andrick serves as the stage manager. He is assisted by juniors Juliet Eagon and Emma Fickes Reich. Sophomore Avery Linn is designing costumes for the play. Senior Alexandria Meyer serves as the lighting designer. Senior Grant Crawford serves as the scene shop foreman. Junior Jaime Meeker and sophomore Brandon Drone serve as the sound co-designers. Junior Cierra Jacobs Mack serve as the props designer. Junior Sofia Zetts serves and the hair and make-up designer. James Welch serves as the technical director. Elynmarie Kazle serves as the production manager and props mentor.

Tess Burgler (director) has a deep passion for the works of William Shakespeare and has been performing in classic theatre for nearly 30 years. Her primary work is done at Ohio Shakespeare Festival as Managing Director and Resident Actor in the company, performing all sorts of Shakespeare roles over the past 18 years. She studied Theatre at the College of Wooster, with a specific focus on Shakespearean Original Practices in Performance. Last summer, she portrayed Hamlet at Ohio Shakes. She's also performed professionally at many venues, including Dobama Theatre, Porthouse Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, French Creek Theatre, Theatre IV in Virginia, Coach House Theatre, Lakeland College, and more. She works as a stage combat instructor with [They Fight].

The next performance of the 2019-2020 season is The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson, under the direction of Elynmarie Kazle. It will be held in the Black Box Theatre at Firestone CLC. Curtain times for The Revolutionists are set for 7:00 p.m. on December 13 and 14, 2019. Special matinee performances will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 14, and Sunday, December 15, 2019. Tickets to The Revolutionists are $8.00 in advance, $10.00 at the door. All tickets are currently available online and at the door on the night of performance. Seating is limited.

A reasonably priced subscription continues to be available for the remaining season. An adult subscription can be purchased for as little as $30.00 which represents a 50 percent savings for the season. A student subscription can be purchased for the ridiculously low price of $20.00. A VIP subscription can be purchased for $50.00 and includes a reserved seat for each of the main stage shows, entry to all Black Box Theatre performances, and access to a special VIP room before and at intermission of each Kersker Theater performance. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased for all Firestone Theatre productions online at FirestoneTheatre.com and at the door on the night of performances. Advanced tickets will be available at the school from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. school days the week of each performance. Details about the 2019-2020 theatre season can be found online at FirestoneTheatre.com

Firestone Theatre provides an excellent audience experience as well as student-centered performances designed to challenge and entertain a discerning audience. The exciting new season includes plays set to appear in the beautifully appointed Kersker Theater with its exquisite acoustics and state-state-of-the-art lighting as well as even more impressive plays in our intimate Black Box Theater which features new seating risers to improve sightlines for all patrons.

Firestone Theatre is the award-winning play and musical-production component of the Akron School for the Arts housed at Firestone Community Learning Center. Firestone Theatre was named an "Outstanding School" by the Educational Theatre Association in 2013. The curricular track of Firestone Theatre is accessible to all rising ninth-grade students via open enrollment and a formal audition.

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