June 1st, 2015
I'm back! After taking part in New York Classical's groundbreaking version of HENRY V, I'm excited to return to the company playing Grumio in TAMING OF THE SHREW!
I've always been drawn to Shakespeare's clowns, with Grumio near the top of my dream roles. His suffering under Petruchio's tyranny is the stuff of legends, and I'm excited to explore the dynamics of their love/hate duo.
New York Classical Theatre has a unique and innovative approach to performances called panoramic theatre. Here are more details about panoramic theatre:
Every summer since 2000, New York Classical Theatre has popped up in City Parks including Central Park, The Battery (Battery Park), Prospect Park, Battery Park City, Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governors Island.
Our outdoor productions in expansive public locations push Panoramic Theatre even further. At each performance, the audience follows the actors from place to place as the plot unfolds from scene to scene, following the journey of the characters. Using different areas to stage specific scenes opens up endless creative possibilities for performers and our audience. By utilizing large physical environments as our playing arenas, audiences literally inhabit the world of the play and become active participants in the drama unfolding around them.
More details about New York Classical Theatre:
Over 16 years, we have presented more than 550 free performances for over 165,000 New Yorkers. We produce both outdoors in Central Park, Prospect Park, The Battery (Battery Park), Governors Island, Battery Park City and Brooklyn Bridge Park and indoors in Brookfield Place, One Liberty Plaza—and more.
By removing plays from traditional performing venues and adapting them for public spaces, we reach a broad demographic of our urban community. We have emerged as an invaluable addition to New York City's theatrical landscape and important artistic and educational resource to our community.
New York Classical Theatre also plays an important role in revitalizing neighborhoods through our productions. In 2006, we presented Schiller's Mary Stuart, in Castle Clinton, the first play to be performed there in 100 years, and our production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest (2013) re-opened Castle Clinton after the flooding of Hurricane Sandy.
To date, we have staged 35 free productions by classical playwrights including William Shakespeare, Moliere, Anton Chekhov, Aphra Behn, George Bernard Shaw, George Farquhar, Friedrich Schiller, Pierre de Marivaux, and Alfred Jarry.
The show is directed by Sean Hagerty, whose Shakspeare class I've had the pleasure of attending at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Knowing that we see eye-to-eye on so many things, I'm excited to explore TAMING with Sean and the rest of this talented cast!