Asolo Rep's 2015 New Stages Tour Production of TWELFTH NIGHT Comes to FSU Tonight

Asolo Repertory Theatre presents the sixth annual New Stages Tour, an FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training production of William Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, which performed throughout October and November 2015. This season's production will be directed by New York City-based director Jen Wineman, who helmed last season's wildly successful adaptation of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. There will be a homecoming performance, open to the public, tonight, November 24 at 6:30pm in the Cook Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

In Shakespeare's timeless gender-bending romantic comedy, Viola, disguised as a man, falls head over heels in love with Orsino. But Orsino pines for Olivia, who only has eyes for Viola, who is really a woman. It's madcap. It's romantic. It's complicated. While more than 400 years old, TWELFTH NIGHT's irresistible characters and their hilarious antics could be pulled straight from today's prime time lineup. This fresh, fast and funny adaptation is set at a sleepaway summer camp where the tangled lovers are liberated from normal everyday life for a summer of mischief, mayhem, mistaken identities and romance. Shakespeare's nobles and attendants are transformed into counselors, campers, supervisors, lifeguards, cooks and more.

"It felt important to give the play a setting that students can immediately recognize, since the idea of Shakespeare can be intimidating. We all have preconceptions about what Shakespeare is supposed to look and sound like - and it usually involves British accents and old-fashioned clothing," said Jen Wineman, Director of TWELFTH NIGHT. "We want to break that mold for students so they can actually see themselves in these plays and these stories. TWELFTH NIGHT has a mischievous spirit of abandon and freedom: there's so much love, pranking, and people trying to convince other people that they're crazy in this play. Summer camp is that place where you get to reinvent yourself away from the hierarchy of school and the real world, and of course it's exactly the place for a midnight prank, or a disguise, or an unrequited love."

Now in its sixth season, the New Stages Tour brings re-imagined, accessible 45-minute adaptations of Shakespeare's classics to schools and community venues throughout the state of Florida, from Miami to Tallahassee. Last season's tour was performed for nearly 14,000 students and community members. New Stages Tour performances are followed by post-show discussions with the cast. Asolo Rep's award-winning Education and Outreach Department also provides supplemental classroom materials, including behind-the-scenes videos, study guides and suggested activities.

"The New Stages Tour is a thrilling introduction to live theatre for thousands of students each season," said Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards. "For young audiences, these innovative and exciting adaptations make Shakespeare's exquisite words accessible and approachable, and they incite an appreciation for the arts in the next generation."

The New Stages Tour company features the entire FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training third year class. The FSU/Asolo Conservatory is a comprehensive three-year Master of Fine Arts graduate degree program that has been named one of the top 10 actor training programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report. During the third and final year of the program, the students join Asolo Rep's professional company of actors and have the opportunity to perform in mainstage productions.

The 2015 New Stages Tour will also feature the first-ever Family Shakespeare Series, with Shakespeare in the Gardens at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on October 24, Shakespeare Under the Stars on November 14 at the Bishop Planetarium at the South Florida Museum, and Shakespeare at Bay Preserve on November 22 hosted by the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. This special series will include an introductory pre-show activity with the actors and will welcome the young - and young at heart - to the magic of TWELFTH NIGHT.

Now in its 57th season, Asolo Repertory Theatre is one of America's leading regional theatres and one of the few true repertory companies in the nation. Each season, Asolo Rep presents a diverse repertoire of newly commissioned plays, bold reinterpretations of contemporary and classic works, and provocative new musical theatre experiences. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards and Managing Director Linda DiGabriele, Asolo Rep's ambitious theatrical offerings and ground-breaking education and outreach programming engage audiences and ensure its lasting legacy for future generations.

Cast (In Alphabetical Order): Kevin Barber - Orsino, Mark Comer - Sir Toby Belch, Chris Alexey Diaz - Antonio, Ally Farzetta - Feste, Tom Harney - Malvolio, Josh James - Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Joe Knispel* - Fabian & Valentine, Kelsey Petersen - Viola, Jordan Ben Sobel* - Fabian & Valentine, Kim Stephenson - Maria, Evan Reynolds - White+ Sebastian, Lisa Egan Woods - Olivia. *Appears in alternate performances | +Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

Directed by Jen Wineman, the TWELFTH NIGHT creative team also includes production designer Melissa Trn and sound designer Matt Parker.

Jen Wineman (Director) is a director/choreographer based in New York City. Asolo Rep: last season's New Stages Tour of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Other Recent credits include the world premiere of her original translation of Lysistrata (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), The 39 Steps (Triad Stage), and the world premieres of the musical Fable (New York Musical Theatre Festival), Charise Castro Smith's new play The Hunchback of Seville (Washington Ensemble Theatre), and the musical Bubble Boy (American Theater Group)-which was written by the team that created the Despicable Me movies. Up next, Jen will travel to Ithaca College as part of the SDC's guest artist initiative to direct Naomi Iizuka's play anon(ymous). She is currently developing a new 1980's style rock musical about zombies and love for an Off Broadway run in 2016. Education/Training: B.A. Vassar College, M.F.A. Yale School of Drama. www.jenwineman.com

Tickets for the TWELFTH NIGHT Homecoming Performance tonight, November 24, are $25 online or in person at the box office and by phone. Tickets are available by calling or visiting the box office (941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388; 5555 N. Tamiami Trail). For more information about Asolo Rep and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, visit www.asolorep.org.

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