Photo Preview: T. Schreiber Studio's ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD

Directed by Cat Parker, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will be performed in the round atop a directionless compass. The modern classic follows Hamlet's bemused childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as they grapple with The Lofty ideas of destiny and free will while witnessing the tragedy in Elsinore unfold.

Rounding out the cast of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead are Erik Jonsun (The Player), Tim Weinert (Hamlet), Doug Williford (Claudius), Tootie Larios (Gertrude), Marguerite Forrest (Ophelia), Tom Lawson, Jr. (Polonius), and as the Tragedians Esteban Benito, Meghan Brown, Horacio F. Lazo, James O'Brien, Janine L. Pangburn, Diane Terrusa, Aki Tsuchimoto, Therese Tucker, and Rodney Allen Umble.

The creative team of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead includes 2009 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominees George Allison (set design) and Karen Ann Ledger (costume design) as well as Eric Cope (lighting design), Andy Cohen (sound design), and Page Clements (dramaturge) and Cristina Lundy (assistant director). The production features Michael Denis as the stage manager, Barbara Kielhofer as the producing coordinator and Oliver Sterlacci as the production assistant.

T. Schreiber Studio (TSS) has been a creative community for actors since 1969. TSS is acknowledged as one of the foremost professional theatre studios in New York City. For four decades, TSS has been the training ground for more than 300 actors each year, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in theatre, film, and television. TSS received five awards from the Back Stage Readers Poll in 2009, including Favorite Off-Off Broadway Theatre. The studio's high quality productions continue to reinforce a reputation for excellence among audiences and the theatrical community. Martin Denton of NYTheatre.com raves that TSS "has become one of indie theater's treasures, featuring first-class productions of classic and new plays with incomparable (and award-winning) production values." For more information, visit www.tschreiber.org.

Scheduled October 15 through November 22, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead performs Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm at The Gloria Maddox Theater at T. Schreiber Studio (151 West 26th Street, between 6th and 7th Ave., Subway: 1 to 28th, F/V to 23rd). The official press opening is Friday, October 23 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at www.tschreiber.org.

Photo credit: Gili Getz