Summer Shakespeare, the professional theater in residence at the University of Notre Dame, will open its 2006 season in mid-July and continue to the end of August with a variety of performances on campus and throughout the community.
“The Comedy of Errors,” directed by William Brown, will be performed from Aug. 15 to Aug. 27 in the University’s Marie P. DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts. Also on the schedule is The Young Company’s production of “The Brothers Menaechmus,” the Roman play that inspired Shakespeare to write “The Comedy of Errors,” from July 16 to Aug. 21 at several outdoor park venues in Michiana, and “ShakeScenes,” a collection of short scenes taken from Shakespeare’s work, Aug. 12 to Aug. 13 in Washington Hall on campus.
Notre Dame’s Summer Shakespeare is composed of three distinct production experiences: the main stage production, performed by a professional theater in residence; The Young Company, formed by Saint Mary’s College and Notre Dame students who perform at various venues in the community; and “ShakeScenes,” 15-minute scenes performed by area schoolchildren and community acting groups.
“Our seventh season continues our mission of offering several ways for audiences to be entertained by and appreciate Shakespeare in any number of forms,” said Jay Skelton, producing artistic director of Summer Shakespeare. “We want Shakespeare’s genius to be accessible to everybody.”
A complete schedule of performances, as well as ticket and pricing information, are available on the Web at http://shakespeare.nd.edu or by calling the DeBartolo Center box office at 574-631-2800.
One of Shakespeare’s quickest-moving works, “The Comedy of Errors” is a hilarious case of multiple mistaken identities as two sets of identical twins, separated at birth, cause chaos for the citizens of Ephesus where servants mistake masters, wives mistake husbands and love conquers all.
Shakespeare’s inspiration for writing “The Comedy of Errors,” “The Brothers Menaechmus,” performed by The Young Company, will be presented outdoors at venues including St. Patrick’s Park in South Bend, McNaughton Park in Elkhart, and Dewey Cannon Park in Three Oaks, Mich. Presented in an accessible, modern translation, this fast-talking comic tale will offer audiences an inside look at “The Comedy of Errors” and familiarize them with Shakespeare’s artistic process.
One of Summer Shakespeare’s most popular events, “Shakescenes” features performances by local grade school students, high school students and community members who employ the techniques of a Shakespearean “Green Show” to perform 15-minute scenes from a variety of Shakespeare’s plays.
Contact : Jay Skelton, 574-631-2636 or skelton.4@nd.edu _
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Originally published by at newsinfo.nd.edu on May 11, 2006.