Shakespeare on the Cape to begin its fourth season

Cross-Dressing Sparks Complications; Young Love Triumphs; and a Sprite is Set Free

Shakespeare on the Cape’s Fourth Season Sets the Stage for Raucous Comedy and Immortal Poetry with Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST, Marivaux’s THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE, and Moliere’s THE SCHOOL FOR WIVES

Shakespeare on the Cape (SOTC), an innovative theater company whose emerging artists are applauded for unexpected, audience-friendly, and tastefully outrageous interpretations, announces a season of four plays in multiple venues across Cape Cod.  Eric Powell Holm, Artistic Director, said, "This season is going to be filled with magic of several, complimentary kinds.  There's the literal and linguistic magic of Shakespeare's amazing final play The Tempest, the almost metaphysical magic of love in The Triumph of Love by Pierre Marivaux, and the comic magic from the brilliant collaboration of Molière and the translator Richard Wilbur in our remount of last year's hit, The School For Wives.  And, of course, we're very proud of the Kiddie Shakes program.  With our company of nine, excellent, young actors performing in all four productions every week, we are eager to share our passion with as many people as we can.  We hope everyone will join us.”

2008 Performances

• William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, directed by Eric Powell Holm, will be presented at the Payomet Performing Arts Center, 8:00 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays, July 2nd to September 4th, and on Nantucket, July 17-18, courtesy of the Nantucket Arts Council (performance times to be determined).  Mashpee Commons, 6:30 p.m., August 1st.  Sagamore Beach Colony Club, 7:30 p.m., August 29th. 
• Kiddie Shakes, a program designed to introduce young people to Shakespeare, will present a shortened, narrated version of The Tempest, directed by Tessa K. Bry, at Payomet Performing Arts Center, 5:00 p.m, Wednesdays, July 9th-September 3rd; On Nantucket, courtesy of the Nantucket Arts Council (performance times to be determined); at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays, July 15th, 22nd, and 29th; at The Mashpee Commons, 5:00 p.m. August 29th (free); and at the Colony Club, Sagamore Beach, 4:30 p.m. August 29th.
• Pierre Marivaux’s The Triumph of Love, translated by Stephen Wadsworth and directed by Jason Bohon, will be presented at The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (Julie Harris stage) 8:00 p.m., Sundays and Mondays, June 29th to August 31st (no performances July 13th and 14th, August 10th and 11th).  There will be an additional 3:00 p.m. matinee performance on August 31st.
• Moliere’s The School for Wives, translated by Richard Wilbur and directed by Eric Powell Holm, will be performed at the WOMR/Schoolhouse Gallery in Provincetown, 8:30 p.m. June 28th, July 5th, 8th, 26th, August 2nd, 9th, 12th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th, and September 6th & 13th; and at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, 8:00 p.m. Tuesdays, July 15th, 22nd, and 29th.

Entering its fourth season, SOTC has deep roots in the Cape Cod community and draws on the personal and artistic resources of the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where many of the principals had their original training.  Its mission is to create unexpected, text-intensive, and audience-friendly theater, with a dedication to young and emerging artists. SOTC is focused on cultivating a strong relationship with our Cape Cod audience while strengthening the creative programming, fiscal discipline, and organizational stability necessary to bring SOTC into the future.  SOTC is proud to take its place in the century-long Cape Cod tradition that invented modern American theater and nurtured artists including Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee Williams.  SOTC is also conscious of our role in contributing to the ongoing cultural and economic development of Cape Cod.

Executive Director Raphael Richter, a Provincetown native, talked about the challenges of building a successful theater company from scratch: “Every organization, no matter what size, must operate with a strong business model.  One of the keys to our success has been focusing from the beginning on shaping our model.  With the help of such a strong community and the fresh infusion of new talent from many different walks of life, we have successfully found our niche.”  Tessa K. Bry, production manager and Kiddie Shakes director, commented on the innovative production values of SOTC:  “The long, rich history of theater on Cape Cod includes new theatrical styles inspired by the intense natural beauty and free spirit of the Cape. Part of the SOTC experience has been structured around that very spirit and beauty. We have been challenged and blessed as a company with many unique and history-filled venues, which have given us the freedom to constructively play with our productions – walls can be worlds, mattresses an entire forest, and things can be generally not as they seem. Just as our performance style reflects the Shakespearean concept that anything can be, we strive in our productions to prove that theater can truly come from anything.”  Along with Holm, Bry & Richter, Elliot Eustis, who also has deep roots in Provincetown, completes SOTC's founding foursome and serves as a full company member and the company's graphic designer.

SOTC has also scheduled a series of benefit events to showcase our work and meet our audiences:

• The season-opening Preview Night in Provincetown, 6:00 p.m., June 24th, featuring a gourmet wine dinner at Bubala’s followed by the premiere of The School for Wives.  Tickets are $150 and will be limited to 50 attendees.      
• A Mid-Summer Night’s ball and party at Edgewood Farm in Truro, Tuesday, August 10th, 7:00 p.m. till whenever, featuring SQUIDDA and other live bands and a down-home barbeque.  BYOB.  $20 donation suggested.
• A September Benefit Gala at Fisherman’s Wharf in Provincetown, September 7th, 6:00 p.m., with two plays, The Triumph and Love and The Tempest, separated by a reception offering sumptuous food, canapés, and a cash bar.  Tickets will be $75 for one play and the reception and $100 for both plays and the reception.  .
• A Benefit Clam Bake in conjunction with the Payomet Center for the Arts, on September 14th.  Location TBA.

For information about tickets, please visit www.shakespeareonthecape.org or call (508) 487-7377.

This ambitious season has been made possible by generous grants and donations from the community, including generous support from the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod.  SOTC is sponsored in part by the Provincetown Tourism Fund, The Provincetown Banner, Bubala’s By The Bay, and Dunes 102 FM and is supported in part by a grant from the Provincetown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Release courtesy of Shakespeare on the Cape.