LES FAUX PAS Launches 2013 Bankside Festival Today

The work of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known to us as Molière, returns to the Rose Footprint Theatre (the Company produced Tartuffe on the Footprint last season) with a new adaptation of one of his sauciest plays, Les Faux Pas: or The Counter Plots. Director Jenna Ware, who also adapted the piece, pulls out all of the stops with this riotously funny play. Featuring a cast of 11 new-comers and Company favorites Jenne Jadow and Dana Harrison Les Faux Pas: or The Counter Plots kicks off the Bankside Festival. Press Opening is tonight, July 6 at 5:30PM.

Tickets to Les Faux Pas: or The Counter Plots are FREE to students and $15 for adults. To view a complete schedule, receive a brochure, or inquire about other shows and discounts, call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353 or visit www.Shakespeare.org. For customized group visits-which may include artist talkbacks, tours, parties and catered events-contact the Group Sales office at (413) 637-1199, ext. 132.

We are also pleased to celebrate the 12th Annual Bankside Festival, which runs June 26 - September 1 and includes the Company's popular Fourth of July Celebration that draws crowds upwards of 800 people who join together to share in a fun-filled day of music, delectable food, and an awe-inspiring reading of The Declaration of Independence.

CAST: Company artist Jennie M. Jadow (The Learned Ladies 2012, As You Like It 2011) returns as Mascarille, her side-splitting role from our 2010 production of The Amorous Quarrel. She is joined by Caroline Calkins (currently Riotous Youth faculty and in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Edith Wharton's Home, The Mount; King Lear, The Venetian Twins), Dana Harrison (The Liar 2013, The Learned Ladies 2012, and As You Like It 2011), Sean Kazarian (Macbeth S&Co. NE Tour, Julius Caesar S&Co. NE Tour,Romeo and Juliet S&Co. NE Tour), Marcus Kearns (The Liar), Justin Weaks (The Venetian Twins 2011) and an equally talented ensemble of 9 other actors-many of whom have come up through the ranks of S&Co.'s lauded Education Program including, Joseph Ahmed (Riotous Youth faculty, Shakespeare & Young Company alumnus), Alexandra Allen (Education Program Apprentice), Kiki Bertocci (Riotous Youth and Fall Festival faculty and former Fall Festival participant), Max Dakin (Shakespeare & Young Company participant), and JoJo MacDonald (Shakespeare & Young Company past participant).

"At first, the search for a play for Bankside this year was a seemingly endless exercise in failure," said director Jenna Ware. "Ultimately, I came across 'L'Etourdi or Les Countre-temps' by Moliere." The difficult search for the right play, however, allowed Ware to immediately connect to the play.

"I was tickled to see the story of the play so easily mimicked the process of attempting to choose one; as the trickster clown spends the entire play reaching for success, only to be foiled over and over again. Our much-abridged adaptation 'Les Faux Pas' is not so much an exercise in failure but a celebration of our willingness to try, try, try again," she added with a laugh. "It's a comedic afternoon that is sure to delight audiences of all ages!"

Multi-talented Company member and composer for Les Faux Pas, Andy Talen (Talen can be seen onstage this summer in both Love's Labour's Lost and Mother Courage), is no stranger to the popular Rose shows. He has collaborated with Ware on both The Amorous Quarrel and The Venetians Twins. With a recipe that includes pirates, clowns, sword fights, food fights, and hilariously-failed schemes, there is something for everyone in this madcap jaunt.

Performance Dates:

Wednesday, June 26, 2013 PREVIEW 5:30
Friday, June 28, 2013 PREVIEW 5:30
Saturday, June 29, 2013 PREVIEW 5:30
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 PREVIEW 5:30
Friday, July 5, 2013 PREVIEW 5:30
Saturday, July 6, 2013 PRESS OPENING 5:30
Wednesday, July 10, 2013 5:30
Friday, July 12, 2013 5:30
Saturday, July 13, 2013 5:30
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 5:30
Friday, July 19, 2013 5:30
Saturday, July 20, 2013 5:30
Wednesday, July 24, 2013 5:30
Friday, July 26, 2013 5:30
Saturday, July 27, 2013 5:30
Wednesday, July 31, 2013 5:30
Friday, August 2, 2013 5:30
Saturday, August 3, 2013 5:30
Wednesday, August 7, 2013 5:30
Friday, August 9, 2013 5:30
Saturday, August 10, 2013 5:30
Thursday, August 15, 2013 5:30
Saturday, August 17, 2013 5:30
Wednesday, August 21, 2013 5:30
Friday, August 23, 2013 5:30
Saturday, August 24, 2013 5:30