Think Shakespeare is just a bunch of people standing around in tights and talking? Think again. Join Maryland Shakespeare Festival for a play that gives Saw a run for its money: Shakespeare’s shockingly violent Titus Andronicus. As part of Maryland Shakespeare Festival’s 2010-11 Season in Exile, this Bare Bard production will play for two performances only: Saturday, March 19th at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 20th at 2 p.m. in the Parish Hall of All Saints Episcopal Church located at 21 North Court Street in downtown Frederick. Look for directional signs and enter the space through the blue doors.
As always in Maryland Shakespeare Festival’s smash-hit Bare Bard Experimental Series, the cast will rehearse for one day only. Actors from across the country arrive in Frederick on Friday evening with their lines already memorized, and by Saturday evening, they are ready to perform the full production before an audience—with exciting improvisational acting, audience interaction, live music, thrilling stage combat, and unbeatable storytelling.
Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare’s bloodiest play, boasting a final body count of no less than fourteen characters—some hanged, some starved to death, and some dispatched with a creative flair. Titus Andronicus was Shakespeare’s most popular play in his time, but today it is rarely performed. Is it just an Elizabethan version of the slasher film—or is there more here than meets the eye? Maryland Shakespeare Festival will seek to rediscover the play’s exploration of power by turning its central rivalry on its head. Shannon Parks will play the vindictive, bloodthirsty Roman general Titus, usually cast as a man, and JJ Area will put a masculine spin on the murderous seductress Tamora, Queen of the Goths.
See what happens when blood and guts meet the raw, unadulterated Bare Bard style on Saturday, March 19th at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 20th at 2 p.m. Sunday’s performance will be followed by a spirited post-show discussion. No two performances are ever the same, so come twice! $15 suggested donation at the door. Seats fill quickly, so reserve in advance by emailing Karen@mdshakes.org or by calling (301) 668-4090. Parking is available at the Patrick Street parking decks and in the church parking lot located just past the Black Horse Building on Patrick Street.
Maryland Shakespeare Festival’s mission is to create classic theater that matters in the lives of the community by bringing classical plays, especially those by William Shakespeare, to life in ways that delight, inspire, and challenge both audience and artist alike. Maryland Shakespeare Festival is supported by grants from the Frederick Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, the MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities. |
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