Brown Box Theatre Project Announces Free Summer Tour Of MEASURE FOR MEASURE

 

Brown Box Theatre Project announces its ninth consecutive year of free outdoor Shakespeare with the troupe's largest and most ambitious production yet: Measure for Measure. Brown Box, under the direction of Executive Artistic Director and Co-Founder Kyler Taustin, will tour Shakespeare's timeless - and timely - tale of power, corruption, virtue, and honor down the East Coast as part of a seven-week tour to 27 outdoor venues in 35 communities 9 sites in Massachusetts (August 9-25), and 18 in Delmarva (August 29-September 21). All Measure for Measure performances are free, outdoors, and open to all audiences; no tickets are needed. Lawn seating, blankets and lawn chairs welcome. Please visit www.brownboxtheatre.org for full performance schedule and rain locations. Due to mature themes this show is recommended for ages 13 and older with the advisory of a parent.

Brown Box Theatre Project's 2019 free Shakespeare tour fulfills the company's mission to deliver professional, impactful theatre directly to communities that otherwise lack access to the performing arts, and to break down barriers that separate potential audiences from live theatre. In an ongoing effort to reinvent the way theatre is created and consumed, each performance will transform a public space into a vibrant cultural and tourist destination, activating public spaces into creative spaces and encouraging community through accessible arts programming.

 

For nine years, Brown Box has been committed to sharing free Shakespeare, discussing his views on love and war, on human civility, and on power in its many forms and abuses, said Executive Artistic Director, Kyler Taustin. Measure for Measure is hauntingly relevant to today's society in its portrayals of power, corruption, abuse of law, and misguided expectations surrounding gender roles.

Some rise by sin and others by virtue fall. Measure for Measure questions what happens when corruption reaches the highest level of court. Explore the price of principle, and witness what happens when the law is bent by those who serve to uphold it. A duke in disguise leaves the fate of his people in the hands of a ruthless judge. A loyal sister is faced with an important decision: save the life of her brother, or uphold her honor? Shakespeare shows what man, seduced by power, is capable of when he thinks no one is watching. In Measure for Measure, we are made to question our own principles and idea of the greater good. Should we all be judged measure for measure?

 

Measure for Measure will be fully staged in each location, and will feature professional artists, designers, and actors including: Sarah Boess as Isabella , Spencer Parli Tew as Angelo , Chris Kandra as Duke , Drew Cleveland as Claudio , Francis Norton as Lucio , Tanya Avenda o Stockler as Provost , Tim Colee as Escalus , Aislinn Brophy as Marianna, and Ivy Ryan as Julietta .

 

Touring Dates & Locations:

 

All performances begin at 7:30 pm*:

 

MASSACHUSETTS:
August 9-August 11 | Christian Herter Park, Allston, MA
August 14 | Hyde Community Center, Newton, MA
August 15 | French River Park, Webster, MA
August 16 | Atlantic Wharf - Waterfront Plaza, Boston, MA
August 17 | Heritage State Park, Fall River, MA
August 18 | Pilgrim Memorial State Park, Plymouth, MA
August 21 | Sampus Pavilion, Lowell, MA
August 22 | Borderland State Park, Easton, MA
August 23 | Christian Herter Park, Allston, MA
August 24 | Hopkinton Center for the Arts, Hopkinton, MA

August 25 | Atlantic Wharf - Waterfront Plaza, Boston, MA

 

DELMARVA:

August 29 | Freeman Stage, Selbyville, DE *7:00 pm start
August 30 | The Green, Dover, DE
August 31 | Main St Berlin, MD
September 1 | Robert Reed Waterfront Park, Chincoteague, VA
September 4 | Wilmington State Park Tower Road, Wilmington < DE
September 5 | Cypress Park, Pocomoke CIty, MD
September 6 | Sturgis Park, Snow Hill, MD
September 7 | Charlestown, MD

September 8 | Sunset Park, Ocean City, MD
September 11 | Holts Landing, Millville, DE
September 12 | Seaford, DE
September 13 | J. Millard Tawes Museum, Crisfield, MD
September 14 | Muskrat Park, St. Michaels, MD
September 15 | Pemberton Hall, Salisbury, MD
September 18 | Teakle Mansion, Princess Anne, MD
September 19 | Northside Park, Ocean City, MD
September 20 | Exmore Town Park, Exmore, VA
September 21 | Lewes Public Library, Lewes DE

Kyler Taustin is the co-founder and Executive Artistic Director of Brown Box Theatre Project. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies from Emerson College in 2008, he soon thereafter founded Brown Box Theatre Project a travelling theater company with a mission to bring the very best in performance, design, and collaboration to unconventional venues and underserved destinations at little or no cost to audiences.

A Delmarva native, he was troubled by a lack of cultural opportunities while growing up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He has since committed his career to building up the artistic landscape of his hometown, and other underserved communities in both Massachusetts and Delmarva who share a belief in accessible public art. Like the traveling medieval troupes that brought shows to the villages on the back of a wagon, Kyler envisioned a modern company that would load up a truck (and a brown box) and bring theater to the people.

Brown Box's innovative, full-scale traveling productions are supported by an equally innovative business model: From the beginning Kyler formed collaborations with arts centers and other public and private properties in both Massachusetts and Delmarva. Brown Box currently has 38 active private and public partnerships in 5 states; these mutually-beneficial collaborations activate unused spaces for locals and tourists alike and encourage community through open access to the arts. In Massachusetts, Brown Box has partnered with Boston Properties and the Fort Point Watersheet Activation Board to become an integral part of the activation efforts along the Fort Point Channel, allowing Brown Box to produce completely free productions for the public in unconventional and exciting spaces, and directly contribute to the city's ambitious revitalization efforts in this area. In Maryland, a pivotal collaboration with the Ocean City Center for the Arts provides Brown Box with a unique and accessible indoor space, allowing the company to bring art to the Ocean City community year-round.

Over the past 9 years Kyler has turned Brown Box into a rapidly growing, year-round company that tours three full-scale classical and contemporary productions to 35 different communities in Massachusetts and Delmarva, reaching over 7,000 audience members annually (including 1,600 under the age of 18 through youth workshops, school performances, and skill-building classes.) No ticketed event is over $20 per person, and all Shakespeare productions are free no tickets required.

In addition to acting as Executive Director, Kyler directs the Annual Summer Shakespeare production, including this year's tour of Measure for Measure. Contemporary productions Kyler has directed include Brilliant Traces, Lab Rats, Echoes, Two Wrongs, The Nina Variations, Some Explicit Polaroids, and Two Rooms. As part of the Boxer Shorts series, Kyler directed Capricho, Play, and Talk to Me Like the Rain.

All 2019 Measure for Measure performances are free, outdoors, and open to all audiences; no tickets are needed. Lawn seating, blankets and lawn chairs welcome. Please visit www.brownboxtheatre.org for full performance schedule and rain locations. Due to mature themes this show is recommended for ages 13 and older with the advisory of a parent.

Funding for Brown Box Theater Project's 2019 free Shakespeare tour of Measure for Measure is provided in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Worcester County Arts Council, Fall River Cultural Council, Webster Cultural Council, and Somerset County Arts Council - organizations dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.

To partner with Brown Box Theatre Project in your community please see brownboxtheatre.org, call 443.808.1215, or email contact@brownboxtheatre.org

 

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