Alley Theatre to Host Shakespeare@400 Celebration

In celebration of William Shakespeare's life, the Alley Theatre hosts Shakespeare@400, a variety of educational and patron-engaging events, highlighted by the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream beginning October 7. Shakespeare in American Communities, a national program, is partnering with the Alley to bring Shakespeare and the spoken word directly into classrooms. Additional activities include a special poetry slam event Breaking Shakespeare: The Bard's Slam, Shakespeare Family Saturdays, new content on Alley Re-Sourced, an interactive on-line resource guide and student matinee performances.

"The Alley has a long history in producing Shakespeare and I am particularly passionate about his work and the impact it still has on people today. Shakespeare@400 gives us the opportunity to introduce Shakespeare to a new generation of future fans of the Bard in a truly celebratory fashion," commented Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director.

Audiences can experience a Shakespeare production first-hand with A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Bard's most popular and enchanting comedy. The woods outside Athens are a busy place as four young lovers and a troupe of actors find themselves in the middle of a dispute between the King and Queen of the fairies. During the production, families are invited to attend Shakespeare Family Saturdays, which include a "Start Up Shakespeare" pre-show workshop and a post-show meet and greet with the actors. A Midsummer Night's Dream is directed by Gregory Boyd and will run October 7 - November 5 in the Hubbard Theatre.

DREAM-HOUSTON is a yearlong celebration of verse, freestyle and vocabulary through unique classroom experiences and community events designed to de-code Shakespeare and make his language contemporary and accessible to everyone. DREAM-HOUSTON is made possible through Shakespeare in American Communities, a national program managed by Arts Midwest in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Alley Theatre is one of 40 professional theatre companies selected to participate in bringing the finest productions of Shakespeare to middle-and high-school students in communities across the United States. The NEA grant will also underwrite three student matinee performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream for students to experience the world of Shakespeare on stage at the Alley.

To learn more about Shakespeare@400 and access our collection of Shakespeare content, visit alleytheatre.org/shakespeareat400 and follow us on facebook.com/alleytheatre using #ShakespeareSaturday

SHAKESPEARE@400 Activities

A Midsummer Night's Dream
By William Shakespeare
Directed By Gregory Boyd
Previews Start October 7, Opens October 12, Through November 5, 2016
Hubbard Theatre

In the Bard's most popular and enchanting comedy, the woods outside Athens are a busy place as four young lovers and a troupe of actors find themselves in the middle of a dispute between the King and Queen of the fairies. A Midsummer Night's Dream is suitable for general audiences ages 12 and up

Shakespeare's Voices

Throughout the season, Alley actors will be featured in a Shakespeare video series honoring the Bard's work. Alley actors perform iconic speeches from Shakespeare's most famous works ranging from King Lear to Twelfth Night. The video series can be found at alleytheatre.org/shakespeareat400

Shakespeare Family Saturdays

October 15, 22, 29, and November 5

For these select performances, a special $10 youth ticket (Age 12-17) will be offered for the Alley's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Audience members can participate in a "Start Up Shakespeare" workshop before the matinee performances for a brief history on Shakespeare and tips on enjoying his work on stage. Following the performance participants are invited to meet cast members from the production.

Student Matinee Performances

The Alley Theatre will offer three student matinee performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, exclusively for students. Performances are Wednesday, October 26, Thursday, October 27 and Friday, November 4.

Advance reservations are required and may be reserved by calling Group Sales at 713.315.3346.

DREAM-HOUSTON

DREAM-HOUSTON includes multi-visit classroom activities that provide students with the tools to understand Shakespeare's text. Additional resources include video content exploring the essentials of performing Shakespeare and an online interactive study guide, Alley Re-Sourced. DREAM-HOUSTON concludes in April 2017 with Breaking Shakespeare: The Bard's Slam, where students will perform both Shakespeare's text and slam poetry in a celebration featuring Alley partner schools. More information on DREAM-HOUSTON can be found online at alleytheatre.org/dream-houston or by calling Applied Theatre at the Alley (Alley ECE) at 713.315.5425.

TICKETS: Tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream are now on sale as part of the 2016-2017 subscription series. Packages range from $125 - $460. Individual tickets go on sale August 29. Tickets can be ordered online (alleytheatre.org) or by phone (713.220.5700). Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.

ABOUT THE Alley Theatre

The Alley Theatre, one of America's leading not-for-profit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company lead by Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden. The Alley produces up to 16 plays each year in its newly renovated theatre, ranging from the best current work, to re-invigorated classic plays, to new plays by contemporary writers. The Alley is home to a Resident Company of actors. In addition, the Alley engages theatre artists of every discipline - actors, designers, composers, playwrights - who work on individual productions throughout each season as Visiting Artists.

The renovation of the Hubbard Theatre at the Alley was completed in October 2015 - and created a new 774-seat state-of-the-art performance venue. Matched with the 310-seat Neuhaus Theatre, the Alley offers nearly 500 performances each season. The Company reaches over 200,000 people each year through its performance and education programs. Its audience enrichment programs include pre-show and post-performance talks, events, and workshops for Audience members of all ages.

The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2016-2017 season sponsor United Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.

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