HAMLET Will Be Performed By Door Shakespeare This Month

Door Shakespeare has announced their summer production: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, adapted by Guy Roberts, Artistic Director of the Prague Shakespeare Company.

Hamlet will run from Wednesday, June 30 through Tuesday, August 17. Tickets may be purchased online at doorshakespeare.com or by calling 920.854.7111. Adult tickets are $35, student tickets are $25, and children under 12 are $15. A filmed version of Hamlet will also be available to stream, with opening date to be announced soon.

Door Shakespeare is a fully vaccinated workplace. All seating is available for purchase in socially distanced pods, and masks are currently required. The actor will be unmasked. "We are delighted to return to the Björklunden garden for our 25th live anniversary season," shares Managing Director Amy Ensign. "We have worked with federal, state, and local health authorities, as well as Actors' Equity Association (the union of professional actors and stage managers) in order to provide the safest theatrical experience possible."

This summer some of the finest professional theatre artists from around the country come together to share a story that has kept audiences on the edge of their seats for over 400 years: Hamlet. Equal parts revenge thriller, psychological exploration, ghost story, family drama, play within a play, and romance gone bad, the curtain falls on a literal killer ending as told by characters who are dreamers, schemers, actors, backstabbers, gravediggers, poisoners, kings, queens, princes, watchmen, ghosts, college students, and social climbers.

Featured in this solo performance is Ryan Schabach, an actor who has a long relationship with Door Shakespeare. Ryan will play seventeen characters in this exciting 100 minute ride.

"This adaptation of Hamlet is very forward-moving and compelling. Once it comes out of the gate it doesn't let up until its dramatic ending," says producing artistic director Michael Stebbins. He continues, "We have not presented a one-actor production before, and it is an exciting opportunity for both Door Shakespeare and audiences. It is a unique experience for all, and we think that it will be an unforgettable one at that."

The look and feel and sound of the production is partly inspired by the artwork of Ellsworth Kelley. "Kelley's work, particularly in the mid-60's, was an exploration of solid, bold colors one another to create the images - the art - and we are playing with this idea in our scenic and costume design," says Stebbins. "So, when Hamlet returns home at the top of the play, the mood is celebratory and colorful because of the recent marriage of his uncle to his mother, rather than funereal, because of his father's recent passing."

This solo version of Hamlet was adapted by Guy Roberts. Roberts is the Founder and Artistic Director of Prague Shakespeare Company, the professional English language theatre of the Czech Republic. He has produced, directed and acted in over 200 productions worldwide. Guy served as Artistic Director of the Austin Shakespeare Festival from 2001-2007. Guy resides in Prague, Czech Republic.

Playing all of the roles in Hamlet is Ryan Schabach, a Milwaukee-based actor. Ryan has appeared on stage at Door Shakespeare as Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing and Faulkland in The Rivals (2010), as Adam in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (2011 and 2012), and as Silvius in As You Like It (2012). Ryan was also the Fight Choreographer for four Door Shakespeare productions in 2015 and 2016. Most recently, he was the Videographer and Editor of Door Shakespeare's 2020 virtual production of J. M. Barrie's Rosalind.

Directing Hamlet is Door Shakespeare's Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stebbins. Since coming to Door Shakespeare in late fall of 2017, Michael has directed the Door Shakespeare Reading Series, and in 2020 he directed the critically acclaimed virtual productions of J. M. Barrie's Rosalind and William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. He appeared as The Archbishop of Canterbury and the King of France in Door Shakespeare's 2019 production of Henry V. He has appeared on professional stages across the country, from NYC's The Public Theater/NYSF and the Mint Theatre Company, to California's Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and many states in between. Wisconsin credits include Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Optimist Theatre (aka Milwaukee's Shakespeare in the Park), Skylight Music Theatre, and Theatre Gigante.

Scott McKenna Campbell returns to Door Shakespeare for a fifth season as Composer and Sound Designer. Previous roles onstage with Door Shakespeare include Feste in Twelfth Night, Verges in Much Ado About Nothing and Justice Shallow The Merry Wives of Windsor. Regional credits include Shakespeare in Delaware Park, the Maryland Shakespeare Company on tour, and eight seasons with the Ohio Shakespeare Festival. A freelance composer and sound designer, Scott has written full lyrics and scores for four original musicals produced regionally and has composed music for companies including the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting.

Costume Designer Latora Lezotte received her BA in Costume Design from Carthage College in 2020. Her credits include costume design for To Make History and Let Others Write About It , Lucifer Jr., and The Arranged Marriage (Milwaukee Chamber Theatre), assistant costume design for The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V (Door Shakespeare), and wardrobe assistant for The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors (First Stage Children's Theatre).

Lighting Designer Todd Mion is based in Baltimore, where his theatrical lighting designs have been seen at the Strand Theater, Iron Crow Theatre, The Baltimore Playwright's Festival, the Capital Fringe Festival. Todd specializes in lighting design for dance, and those designs have been seen at The Kennedy Center, The Alvin Ailey Theatre in New York City, The Greenhouse Theatre in Chicago, and internationally at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Scenic and Properties Designer Jody Sekas is excited to be back at Door Shakespeare, where he designed the 2018 productions of Much Ado About Nothing and The Comedy of Errors, the 2019 productions of Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor, as well as the 2020 virtual production of J. M. Barrie's Rosalind. He has worked as a freelance designer for such venues as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Renaissance Theaterworks, First Stage Children's Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Rochester Civic Theatre, Dell'Arte International, Omaha Theatre Company for Young People, The Western Stage, and on several independent films. Jody is currently Associate Professor of Scenic Design & Technology and a core professor in the Digital Design & Fabrication Certificate Program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

For more information about Door Shakespeare and their upcoming production of Hamlet, visit doorshakespeare.com or call 920.854.7111.

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