Maryland Ensemble Theatre Presents Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST

Maryland Ensemble Theatre has announced its second production in its 2020-2021 Season Of Surprises: William Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Directed by MET Associate Artistic Director Julie Herber, this production of The Tempest reimagines the show with a cast of eleven in a manner that is safe for performers and audiences alike, placing the sorcerer Prospero in isolation with the sprite Ariel performing live in an empty theatre, as a storm of scenes and external characters surround them on a series of screens that fill the space. Audiences will be able to safely join Prospero for multiple performances streamed live online this coming November.

William Shakespeare's The Tempest tells the story of Prospero, the sorcerer and usurped Duke of Milan who was betrayed by his brother Antonio and left in isolation on a distant island. With the help of his sprite Ariel, Prospero creates a tempest of his own to bring his brother, a shipwrecked crew, and the King of Naples to the island to exact his revenge. Meanwhile, Prospero's daughter Miranda discovers and falls in love with Ferdinand, the son of the King. Featuring live performances by Robert Leembruggen (Prospero) and Ray Hatch (Ariel) and remote performances from Caitlyn Joy (Miranda), Jack Evans (Caliban), Jeremy Myers (Ferdinand), Reiner Prochaska (Alonso), Tim Seltzer (Antonio), Steve Custer (Sebastian), Genevieve Williams (Gonzalo), Matt Harris (Trinculo) and JD Sivert (Stephano).

"We are going through a tempestuous time," says Director Julie Herber on the relevance of the project. "Just about every facet of our lives have been affected by not only this pandemic, but the current state of our country. The laundry list of topics from racial and social inequities and injustices, political divisiveness, health care, drug addiction, mental health, education to climate change whirls around us non-stop in print, media, and standing in line at the grocery store. I wanted to explore the idea of isolation, from an artist's point of view. As theatre-makers and storytellers, being cut off from our audiences and left to our own devices or not, many of us in the artistic realm are struggling with how to keep going. So, I was very interested in exploring this notion of our Prospero being alone in an abandoned theater with no audience, no co-stars, no connection, and seeing how that affects the psyche of an artist." Working to bring the director's vision to life are the talented design team comprised of Stage Manager Annie Watsic, Multimedia Designer Kristin Hamby, Lighting Designer Stephen Knapp, Set Designers Stephen Craig and Julie Herber, Scenic Charge Matt Vance, Sound Designer and Videographer Ken Poisson, Composer Colin Shultzaberger, and Technical Director Stephen Craig and Producing Manager Melynda Burdette Wintrol.

The Tempest will be streamed live to a private youtube page for six performances, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 3pm from November 13 through November 22. Tickets will cost $24, upon purchase audience members will be sent a private link to the youtube page where the performance of their choice will be streaming. For more information, visit MarylandEnsemble.org/tempest

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