Shakespeare & Company's Northeast Regional Tour HitsThe Road

Shakespeare & Company's Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare is now on the road. This year, the Company's Tour brings two Shakespeare productions, Othello, the Moor of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream, to over 20,000 students. The Tour visits 75 schools throughout the Northeast in nine different states including; Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland.

During the Northeast Regional Tour, Education Artists visit colleges, performance venues, and middle and high schools, conducting workshops and performing 90-minute productions of one of Shakespeare's plays. These fully produced performances emphasize Shakespeare's language, dramatic action, and the vital relationship between the actors and the audience.

"All Shakespeare's plays begin with, or quickly descend into, a world out of balance. The rest of the play attempts to find or create a way out of that madness," said A Midsummer Night's Dream Director Douglas Seldin. "In tragedies, balance is restored through death and downfall, while comedies find resolution through union, often in the form of marriage. We want our productions to help student audiences encounter Shakespeare in more engaging and illuminating ways."

Each play features a seven-member cast who take on multiple roles. The 2018 cast includes: Andrew Barrett, David Bertoldi, Gregory Boover, Alison Howard, Caitlin Kraft, Kirsten Peacock, and Kai Tshikosi. The productions are directed by Kevin G. Coleman (Othello) and Douglas Seldin (A Midsummer Night's Dream), with costumes by Govane Lohbauer (Othello) and Elizabeth Magas (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and Production Design by James W. Bilnoski.

Shakespeare & Company's Tour also performs both shows for local schools on their Lenox campus in the Tina Packer Playhouse. A Midsummer Night's Dream has school performances on Monday, March 26th, Monday, April 2nd and Friday, May 4th, and Othello has performance dates on Friday, March 2nd, Thursday, April 12th and Wednesday, May 2nd.

For more information about the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare and how to bring it to your school contact Jonathan Croy in the Education Department at (413) 637-1199 ext. 172 or education@shakespeare.org.

Shakespeare & Company's education programs are supported in part by grants from The National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and it's Youth Reach Initiative, the Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation, Deborah and Bill Ryan, Jeffrey Konowitch and Wendy Laurin, The Feigenbaum Foundation, The Charles H. Hall Foundation, the Cultural Councils of Lee, Lenox, Northern Berkshire, Pittsfield, Sheffield, Springfield, Tyringham, New Marlborough- Local agencies supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; and a coalition of local businesses, families, and individuals.

Located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, Shakespeare & Company is one of the largest Shakespeare Festivals in the country. Founded in 1978, the organization attracts over 30,000 patrons annually. The Company is also home to Shakespeare & Company's internationally renowned Center for Actor Training and nationally renowned and award-winning Education Program. More information is available at www.shakespeare.org.

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