COMEDY OF ERRORS, GOD'S EAR and More Set for Actors' Shakespeare Project's 2014-15 Season

Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP), under the leadership of Artistic Director Allyn Burrows, Executive Producer Sara Stackhouse, and Mara Sidmore Director of Education Programs, Projects, and Partnerships enters its second decade presenting a season of powerful stories, awesome artists, diverse venues, and integrated youth and community education projects. For more information about ASP's 11th season visit actorsshakespeareproject.org or call 617-776-2200.

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

Directed by David R. Gammons

September 24 - October 19, 2014; Brighton High School, 25 Warren Street, Brighton

Performances are Wed (1st preview only) - Fri., 7:30pm; Sat, 3pm (not opening Sat.) & 8pm; Sun, 2pm.

Free Open Rehearsal: Saturday, September 13 at 11am Suite Not 2B Somerville, MA

Press Performance: Saturday, September 27, 2014, 8pm

Community Night Performance: (Brighton residents $5 with ID) Thursday October 2 at 7:30pm

Student matinees: October 1, 3, 8, 10, 15 & 17 at 10am

Post-show discussions each Sunday after 2pm matinee and at all 10am student matinees.

Tickets are $28 - $50. $15 advance student rush.

"Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?" - The Comedy of Errors, Act II Scene 2

What happens when a group of traveling side show performers decides to mount one of Shakespeare's first comedies for a lark? A ribald romp of mistaken identities ensues. One of Shakespeare's earliest, shortest, and funniest plays, and his first commissioned work, The Comedy of Errors takes us on a farcical ride where anxieties lock horns with the transformative power of love. However, the absurdity leaves us with an awareness of mortality, human frailty, and a lingering question: how is one's sense of self undermined when the world no longer recognizes you?

With Comedy, ASP will, for the first time, perform in a public high school--Brighton High School (BHS). Bay Colony Shakespeare, who worked at BHS last year, will join forces with ASP to offer an after-school theater program, where interested BHS students will explore the text and story of Comedy via the circus arts, led by ASP RAC member Johnnie McQuarley. Community members and patrons should stay tuned for youth events scheduled in conjunction with the professional performances. This project will mirror the Youth Performance Project at the Forest of Arden Youth Studio at the Charlestown Working Theater. ASP's goal is to provide opportunities for the two groups of youth to share training and witness each other's process along the way.

The Comedy of Errors was also the center-piece for ASP's Teacher Institute, where teachers of all grade levels explored ways to bring Shakespeare to life in their classrooms, held at Salem State University, August 4 - 8, 2014. Teacher Institute participants and leaders will gather again on opening night to see the performance and for a post-Institute discussion of their successes and challenges applying learning from the Institute in their classrooms. The Teacher Institute was funded in part by the BPS Arts Expansion Fund at EdVestors, who partnered with ASP to offer more opportunities for Boston Public School teachers to take part in the Institute.

Featuring ASP company members: Jesse Hinson* (Antipholus of Syracuse), Sarah Newhouse* (Solinus/Adriana), Omar Robinson* (Antipholus of Ephesus), Richard Snee* (Egeon/Luciana). Additional cast: Paige Clark* (Emilia), Cameron M. Cronin (Courtesan), Susan S. McGinnis* (Dromio of Syracuse), Ryan O'Connor (Dr. Pinch), and Eddie Shields (Dromio of Ephesus).

The design team includes David R. Gammons (scenic), Jeff Adelberg** (lights), David Wilson (sound), Gail Buckley** (costumes), Nina Alexander (props), Melissa Baroni-Healey (vocal coach), and Ted Hewlett (violence).

Phèdre by Jean Racine

Directed by M. Bevin O'Gara

November 19 - December 7, 2014; First Church Boston, 66 Marlborough Street, Boston

Performances are Wed (1st preview only) - Fri., 7:30pm, Sat 3pm (not opening) & 8pm; Sun, 5pm.

Free Open Rehearsal: Saturday, November 8, 11am in ASP's Suite Not 2B at the Somerville Armory.

Press Performance: Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 8pm

Student matinees: December 2 & 3 at 10am

Pre-and Post-show discussions each Sunday before 5pm matinee and after all 10am student matinees.

Tickets are $28 - $50. $15 advance student rush.

"It is no longer a passion hidden in my heart: It is Venus herself fastened to her prey."-Phédre, Act I, Scene 3

Being descended from philandering gods and bloodthirsty warriors does not make for a fate of calm karmic seas. If Phèdre (Paula Plum) is troubled by her family's erotic history, it may come as no surprise that she falls hard for her stepson, Hippolytus (Jason Bowen), when her husband, Theseus (Robert Walsh), appears to be on permanent vacation. If only switching horses was that easy. Instead, monumental rage, mistrust, guilt, and ultimately death seem to be the orders of the day for this family saga worthy of a Greek tragedy. Oh, wait, it is a Greek tragedy--and one of epic proportions.

The cast features ASP resident company members (RAC): Steven Barkhimer* as Theramenes, Jason Bowen* as Hippolytus, Paula Plum* as Phédre, Mara Sidmore* as Aricia, Bobbie Steinbach* as Oenone, Robert Walsh* as Theseus, with additional cast Sarah Elizabeth Bedard* as Ismene .

The design team includes Cristina Todesco** (scenic), Annie Wiegand (lights), Mary Lauve (costumes), and Arshan Gailus (sound)

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian

January 7 - February 1, 2015; Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St, Cambridge

Performances are Wed (1st preview only)-Fri., 7:30pm; Sat, 3pm (not opening Sat.) & 8pm; Sun, 2pm

Press Performance: Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 8pm

Free Open Rehearsal: Saturday, December 27 at 11am, ASP's Suite Not 2B at the Somerville Armory.

Student matinees on January 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 & 29 at 10am

Post-show discussions each Sunday after 2pm matinee and all 10am student matinees.

Tickets are $28 - $50. $15 advance student rush.

"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." - Measure for Measure, Act II, Scene 1

Society is going to hell in a hand-basket. Duke Vincentio figures the best way to rectify a bad situation is to remove himself and put the government into the hands of the one person who can restore order, Angelo. Big mistake. Angelo may not be as righteous as the laws he enforces. We learn he's sitting on some pretty wrongheaded lust when the innocent one who pleads to him for mercy on behalf of her brother suddenly becomes the object of his deep-seeded desires. Sex, prison, and power collide in a city on the edge, and a vaulted struggle begins.

Featuring ASP company members: Brooke Hardman* (Provost, Mariana, Mistress Overdone), Johnnie McQuarley* (Lucio, Froth, Friar Peter, Barnadine), Maurice Emmanuel Parent* (Angelo, Deputy of Vienna), Michael Forden Walker* (Duke Vincentio, Duke of Vienna). Additional cast: Jared Michael Brown (Claudio, Elbow, Gentleman, Client), Adrianna Mitchell (Isabella), Lydia Barnett-Mulligan (Juliet, Pompey), and Arthur Waldstein (Escalus). No designers set at this time.

God's Ear by Jenny Schwartz

Directed by Thomas Derrah

March 25 - April 12, 2015;

Davis Square Theatre, 255 Elm Street, Somerville

Press Performance March 28, 2015 at 8pm

Free Open Rehearsal: Saturday, March 14 at 11am in ASP's Suite Not 2B at the Somerville Armory

Performances are Wed (1st preview only) - Fri., 7:00pm; Sat, 3pm (not opening Sat.) & 7pm; Sun,2pm

Post-show discussions after Sunday 2pm matinees ONLY.

God's Ear is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

"And I said, 'Bunnies aren't domestic.' "And she said, 'Neither are you.'" - God's Ear, Act I

Grief is a wily snake that assumes unpredictable forms. Through a most unusual use of language, Jenny Schwartz guides us to look through a window of loss that may appear at first opaque but once thrown open, it shatters, and its shards cut to the bone.

Featuring ASP company members: Marianna Bassham* (Lenora), John Kuntz* (Flight Attendant/GI Joe). Additional cast: Ann Carpenter (Tooth Fairy), Josephine Elwood (Lanie), Tamara Hickey* (Mel), and Gabriel Kuttner* (Ted). Designers include Cristina Todesco** (scenic) and Jeff Adelberg** (lighting).

Henry VI, Part 2 by William Shakespeare

Directed by Tina Packer

May 13 - June 7, 2015

Performances are Wed. (1st preview only)-Fri., 7:30pm; Sat, 3pm (not opening Sat.) & 8pm; Sun, 2pm

The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University, 525 Washington Street, Boston

Free Open Rehearsal: Saturday, May 2, 11am in ASP's Suite Not 2B at the Somerville Armory

Press Performance May 16, 2015

Student matinees at 10am: May 20, 21 & 28

Post-show discussions each Sunday after 2pm matinee and all 10am student matinees

"Could I come near your beauty with my nails, I'd set my ten commandments in your face." Henry VI, Part 2, 1.2

Probably Shakespeare's first history play, Henry VI, Part 2 throws us into a world of conspiracy, prophesy, and intrigue in a way that brings every one of these historical figures vividly to life.

Featuring ASP company members: Steven Barkhimer* (Cardinal Beaufort), Allyn Burrows* (Duke of Gloucester), Jesse Hinson* (King Henry VI), Jennie Israel* (Queen Margaret), Marya Lowry* (Duchess Eleanor), and Johnnie McQuarley* (Earl of Salisbury). Additional cast: Nigel Gore* (Duke of York), Ross MacDonald* (Duke of Buckingham), and Craig Mathers* (Duke of Suffolk).

*A Member of the Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

**Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829

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