Shakespeare's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING to be Presented for Free in Prospect Park

A brisk, hilarious adaptation for ten actors that invites the audience into a vibrant world of music, mischief, mistaken identity, dizzying romance and fierce passion. When a group of war heroes are invited to enjoy peacetime on Don Leonato's beautiful estate, they find their friendships greatly tested by a formidable new adversary: Love.

DIRECTED BY NOA EGOZI & CHRISTIE MARIE CLARK

AUGUST 5th - AUGUST 15th

VAINGLORY THEATRE TEAM is setting one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies, Much Ado About Nothing, against the gorgeous outdoor backdrop of the Music Pagoda in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. In this playful, vibrant adaptation, every element of the show, including the music, is produced live by the actors. The action of the play will travel to all sides of the audience, evoking the breathless, uncontrollable passions of the characters. Directed by Noa Egozi & Christie Marie Clark, this production runs for 8 performances, free of charge. Official Opening Night is set for Thursday, August 5th at 5:00 PM. Check www.vainglorytheatre.org for show-times and weather updates.

Community is at the center of Much Ado About Nothing. It is a story about a group of people who are reunited after a long conflict. Each person has adjustments to make, as they are all beginning new chapters of their lives. While some are ridiculously less successful than others, healing and generosity are the play's core elements. We believe that our audiences will see something of their own struggles as the world around them continues to shift and change. Like the heroes of the play, our New York community is in dire need of connection and healing, and will find much-needed comfort in the high-calibre theatrical tradition that is a point of pride for our city.

The Vainglory Theatre Team is a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization that creates and shares free theatrical productions and theatre education workshops that promote a world built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. We accomplish this by staging visceral, exhilarating performances- inspiring audiences with authentic acts of courage, struggle, and compassion.

Noa Egozi is an Israeli director based in New York. Recent directing projects include an original one-woman adaptation of Taming of The Shrew which received an award for best adaptation from the United Solo Festival. The world premiere of Sylvia Khoury's An Inferno, the world premiere of Lorne Svarc's Chained Woman, Mud by Maria Irene Fornes, and Noa's original five-person adaptation of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar which was produced at The Brick Theater . Noa received her MFA in directing from The New School for Drama, where she was a teaching assistant for Stephen Brown-Fried's MFA directing class as well as a teaching artist in the BFA program's 24-Hour Play Festival. Noa was an Artistic Intern at The Play Company where she is now a member of the literary group and recently assisted Guillermo Calderon on his production of Villa and Dan Rothenberg on his production of Time's Journey Through a Room. She was a part of the SDCF observership class and is a proud Drama League Classical Directing Fellow. As part of her fellowship she has worked with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare and Company , where she has since trained as a teacher. worked in the education department and was assistant director of founding artistic director Tina Packer.

Christie Marie Clark is a Brooklyn-based creator, educator, and advocate of social change. In 2013, she received her MFA in directing from The New School for Drama. Christie was chosen as a 2016 Drama League artist in residence for her project L'appel Du Vide. NYC credits include: The Great Somewhere, The See Throughs, and Untied: An American Story (Asterism Theatre Co.), Venus von Merkle (Open Source Gallery), The Mermaid Won't Sing and The Skull Beneath The Skin (440 Gallery); G Train Exodus (Estrogenius Festival); They All Know Me (Thespian Production Slam-a-Thon); Clown Love (Strawberry One Act Festival); Clean; The Spider and the Wasp; Marlee Saves the World; An Office Called Eden; Ruins and Radical Methods for Radical Heartbreak (at NSD). As Assistant Director: Trojan Women and Execution of Justice (NSD). Christie is the co-founder and artistic director of Asterism Theatre Company. She is most drawn to theatre that is bottomless: plays that reveal more with each reading, rehearsal or performance. Most of all, she is endlessly fascinated by theatre's capacity to prompt social epiphany and change.

Much Ado About Nothing features Justin Choi, Nick Solon Chris, Andrew R. Cooksie Jr, Ryan Feyk, Amani Huell, Brittany Lee McDonald, Charles Pang, Trey Radu-Blackburn, Wolf Clarke Roth and Rosie Sowa.

Much Ado About Nothing August 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15 at 5:00pm.

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