Shakespeare for Kids to Open at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival

Romeo and Juliet and their zany Robot take Shakespeare's masterpiece and break-dance it down for kids in the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's Shakespeare for Kids. The production runs July 28-31 and August 3-7 at 10am at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts at DeSales University.

PSF's Director of Education Erin Clare Hurley, who premièred a lively edition of Shakespeare for Kids, aka "S4K," based on A Midsummer Night's Dream last season, launches an all-new production using elements of Romeo and Juliet. "The introduction of Shakespeare for Kids was everything we hoped it would be and the positive feedback we received encouraged me to write a new script for 2010," says Hurley. "People enjoyed the interactive nature of the production and how ‘Team Shakespeare' engaged the audience with songs, puppets, and Shakespeare's text."

"As a professional company devoted to producing Shakespeare's plays, we wanted to provide families with an opportunity to introduce their children to Shakespeare in a welcoming, kid-friendly atmosphere," says Patrick Mulcahy, producing artistic director. The production is geared for children ages 4-10.

This summer's S4K introduces young theater-goers to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with a multi-talented cast and a trunk full of puppets, a guitar and banjo trio, and, yes, a robot. The S4K "Team Shakespeare" includes Andrew Kane, a member of last season's team, Michael Gill and recent DeSales graduate Chelsea Anne Carle.

Through a combination of songs and scenes, Shakespeare for Kids plays like a kids television show, and ensures that the young audiences' first experience with Shakespeare is a positive one. "Our first goal is to make sure that kids have fun," Hurley says. "Tragedy has never been this silly. The focus of S4K is to introduce the characters and elements of Shakespeare's language and we laugh the whole way there."

All tickets cost $9, general admission, and are available by calling the PSF Box Office at 610-282-WILL [9455] and online at www.pashakespeare.org.

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is the 2010 Season Sponsor. Associate Season Sponsors are the Harry C. Trexler Trust, The Morning Call and Service Electric Cable TV & Communications. Director Sponsors are Linda Lapos and Paul Wirth.

The 2010 Festival also features The Merry Wives of Windsor (through August 8 in the Schubert Theatre) and Romeo and Juliet (through August 8 on the Main Stage). Single ticket prices range from $25 to $50. Discounts are available for seniors, students, and groups. Festival offerings for children and families include Robin Hood (through August 7 in the Schubert Theatre); tickets cost $9-$15. A free outdoor Green Show is performed 45 minutes prior to each evening performance.

Two shows are performed one night only: Underneath the Lintel (July 26), and Finale Cabaret (August 1). Tickets for each are $25.

Tickets for all performances can be ordered by calling 610-282-WILL or online at www.pashakespeare.org.

The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University is the Official Shakespeare Festival of The Commonwealth and a professional, not-for-profit theatre company. An independent 501 c 3 organization, PSF receives support from DeSales University and relies on contributions from individuals, government agencies, corporations and foundations. PSF is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and a member of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council, and Discover Lehigh Valley.

Artist Biographies:
CHELSEA ANNE CARLE (cast) is a recent DeSales graduate in her second summer at PSF. Festival credits include Iras in Antony and Cleopatra, Trivia in Cinderella, Susan Brady in The Playboy of the Western World, Annie in Robin Hood, and Roberta in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Michael Gill (cast) is also performing the role of Slender in PSF's current production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. His PSF credits also include Cleante in The Imaginary Invalid, Silvius/Lebeau in As You Like It, and an ensemble member in My Fair Lady. He currently lives in Orlando, Fla., where he performs with, and creates sound effects and music for, PB&J Theatre Factory, a physical comedy troupe that builds their own shows.
ERIN CLARE HURLEY (Playwright, Director) Eleventh summer with PSF. PSF Directing credits include: Julius Caesar, Much Ado, Macbeth, Hamlet (WillPower Tours), Robin Hood, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Winnie the Pooh and multiple years of the Green Show. Last fall, she directed Anne of Green Gables for DeSales University's Act 1. Her acting credits include: Viola in Twelfth Night, Charmian in Antony and Cleopatra (PSF), Anne of Green Gables (Barrymore nomination Outstanding Leading Actress) People's Light and Theatre Company, and the Cleveland Playhouse. M.F.A. Case Western Reserve University, B.A. DeSales University. Erin also teaches theatre at DeSales.
ANDREW KANE (cast) Fifth summer at PSF. Festival credits include: Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night, and Shakespeare for Kids. A graduate of DeSales University, recent credits include Snow White, King Lear, and The Emperor's New Clothes at People's Light, and Hotspur in Henry IV, Part I at the Lantern. He is a Barrymore Award nominee (Supporting Actor in a Musical, Ensemble in a Play) and winner (Ensemble in a Musical).

 

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