Shakespeare in the Park

From: Mistress of the Blue Shift <quarong at mindspring.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2001 00:04:06 -0700

This is my annual announcement of a really great summer activity. A Seattle area organization called Green Stage puts on free plays in King County area parks every summer. Usually they do 2 Shakespeare selections, and sometimes something else. The language is traditional, the set dressing and props minimal, and the overall presentation very well done. People bring their blankets and their meals, and a good crowd always turns up. The actors do solicit donations afterwards, but it's totally voluntary. You can learn more about the organization as a whole at http://www.greenstage.org/.

Play #1 is "Troilus & Cressida", directed by David Nochimson. Most performances will be at 3pm.

"Set against the backdrop of the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida is renowned by critics and audiences alike as one of Shakespeare's funniest tragedies. Its unconventional form defies the usual classifications of Shakespeare's plays: part comedy, part tragedy, part history, and part satire, Troilus and Cressida speaks powerfully to a modern generation skeptical about ideas of honor in romantic love and military glory.

The love between Troilus and Cressida is doomed to end in betrayal and loss, while the Greeks and Trojans squabble with each other and among themselves over Helen, "a pearl whose price hath launched a thousand ships". In this epic battle of pride, we watch huge mythic characters behaving very small indeed."

Play #2 is "MacBeth" directed by Ken Holmes. Most performances will be at 8pm.

"One of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, and one of the most famous plays in the english language, Macbeth is a very dark look into man's dealings with the forces of evil. The themes of witchcraft and evil in the play were shaped largely by the interests of the newly crowned King James, for whom the play was written.

After succesfully quelling a rebellion against his king, Macbeth is confronted by witches who prophesy his rise to the throne. When their predictions begin to be realized, Macbeth and his wife take matters into their own hands by plotting the murder of the king. Their ruthless desire for power leads the couple down an irrevocably tragic path of murder and madness."

This year Greenstage is also combining with 2 other companies to do a whole weekend of plays at Volunteer Park on July 21-22. This will include:

         The Tempest - Wooden O
           Tartuffe - Theater Schmeater
           Troilus & Cressida - GreenStage

Check out http://www.greenstage.org/sotf.shtml for more information about this event.

Have fun!

         Quarong

<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>

Hurray for our band of happy ragged folk. Telling old stories and fireside jokes.
Living for the music, the love, and the laugh. Hurray for the riff-raff!
[Chorus to "Riff-Raff" by Casey Neill. -- Please reply to <quarong at mindspring.com>.] Received on 07/04/01