A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM to Take the Stage in 80's Fashion at Trinity Rep

One of William Shakespeare's most produced plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream, takes the stage at Trinity Repertory Company and continues the 53rd season, Ghosts of the Past, Dreams of the Future from February 9 - March 24, 2017 in the Chace Theater. Directed by associate artistic director Tyler Dobrowsky, this production is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Project Discovery, Trinity Rep's landmark student matinee program which has introduced over one million Rhode Island students to live theater. Tickets are available at www.trinityrep.com, by calling (401) 351-4242 or at the theater's box office at 201 Washington St., Providence.

In this miraculous comedy, four fantastic stories are woven together in a single fanciful night: the wedding of an Athenian Duke to his Queen; the comic misadventures of four lovers lost in the forest; an uproarious throw-down between the King and Queen of the Fairies; and the hilarious antics of a group of amateur actors. Magical and fun, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a celebration of love, innocence, and imagination perfect for audiences of all ages.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Project Discovery program, Trinity Rep-the State Theater of Rhode Island-will offer free tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream to all Rhode Island 11th graders. The bold initiative, titled The Grade 11 Project, harks back to Project Discovery's roots and enhances Rhode Island's position as an arts and culture epicenter. The reach of this program is one that only a state the size of Rhode Island could successfully achieve. The Grade 11 Project is made possible in part by lead support from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"This is a love letter to all the children coming to see the show as part of Trinity Rep's Grade 11 Project and to all the children who have been a part of Project Discovery over the past 50 years," said director Tyler Dobrowsky. "I want our audiences, both young and older, to viscerally feel how transportive and exhilarating live theater can be." Set at a high school dance in America during the 1980s, Dobrowsky sets to create a show celebrating "the joy in discovering who you are as an independent person, the feeling of potential, power, and possibility of who you could be."

A Midsummer Night's Dream features resident Acting Company members Angela Brazil, Timothy Crowe, Rebecca Gibel, Mauro Hantman, Phyllis Kay, Brian McEleney, Jude Sandy, FrEd Sullivan, Jr., and Rachael Warren and Brown/Trinity Rep actors Gwen Kingston and Teddy Lytle with Jeff Church, Daniel Duque-Estrada, and Kym Gomes.

Trinity Rep also welcomes sixteen local children, ages 8 through 12, to the stage. Over 150 children auditioned and the rotating cast includes: Calista Aguinado of Warwick, Sophie Appel of Cranston, Ahlyha Bright of Providence, Idowu Demola of Providence, Elizabeth Dunn of South Kingstown, Thomas Fitzgerald of Warwick, Lana Lacombe of Cranston, Gustavo Londono of Cranston, Laurel McMahon of Warwick, Wesley Memery of Cranston, Elijah Nyahkoon of Cranston, Lillian Johnson of Providence, Abbie O'Brien of Somerset, MA, Samuel Wright of Rumford, Ronin W. Scott of Warwick, and Reid Taylor of Providence.

An actor from the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA program will host the Prologue before each performance: one hour before curtain, they will lead a 30-minute chat about the history of the production and playwright and how this show speaks to our country today. Each prologue ends with a short participatory Q&A session. Attendance is free for ticket holders.

The creative team includes Michael McGarty (set design), Olivera Gajic (costume design), Dan Scully (lighting design), and Peter Sasha Hurowitz with stage manager Kristen Gibbs.

Tyler Dobrowsky currently serves as the theater's associate artistic director, where he has been a member of the education, literary, and artistic teams since 2003. He founded YASI, Trinity Rep's summer program for children, as well as Shakespeare en el Verano (Shakespeare in the Summer), Trinity Rep's touring bilingual summer Shakespeare project. Directing credits at Trinity Rep include: Julius Caesar, A Flea in Her Ear; It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Program, Love Alone (a world premiere with the playwright Deb Salem Smith) and A Christmas Carol. Directing credits at the Gamm: The Big Meal, Morality Play, The Rant and American Buffalo. Tyler teaches in the Brown/Trinity MFA program, serves on the board of Rhode Island Latino Arts and is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers union. He received his MA in Education Policy from Brown University, and studied history, theater, and Russian at Holy Cross.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is sponsored by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and produced as part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest. Trinity Rep's 53rd season is sponsored by Ocean State Job Lot and RISCA.

Trinity Repertory Company

The State Theater of Rhode Island, Trinity Repertory Company is now in its 53rd season. Since its founding in 1963, Trinity Repertory Company has been one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. Featuring the last permanent resident Acting Company in America, Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere, contemporary, and classic works for an estimated annual audience of approximately 145,000. Since 1963, the theater has produced 66 world premieres, mounted national and international tours, and, through its MFA program, trained hundreds of new actors and directors.

Subscriptions for the 2016-2017 season Ghosts of the Past, Dreams of the Future are now on sale. The remainder of Trinity Rep's season includes Faithful Cheaters by Deborah Salem Smith and Fuente Ovejuna (Like Sheep to Water) by Lope De Vega Carpio. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep's website at www.trinityrep.com.

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