The Asheville Shakesperience returns this weekend as our 2010 Outdoor Season of Free Theatre Under the Stars Continues!
The Asheville Shakesperience, directed by Scott Keel, opens Friday, July 16 through Sunday, July 25. Shows are Fridays through Sundays at 7:30 pm. SPECIAL NOTE: On July 23 - 25, The Class Act Players will open for us at 6:30 pm with a special performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, adapted by Kaitlin Jencks and directed by Mandy Phillips.
The Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre is located at: 100 Gay St, Asheville NC 28801.
Our rain policy is: We'll play through a light sprinkle - plan to bring your umbrellas; if we have a sudden shower, we'll pause the show for a few minutes to let the rain pass by and then resume where we left off - we'll have a rain tent set up and there is rain shelter under the lighting towers.
Breaking News: Masonic Temple and Montford Park Players
Announce Long-Term Agreement
I am delighted to announce that we have signed a long-term agreement with the Asheville Masonic Temple, in which its third-floor theatre will become our permanent winter home!
At the same time, we are announcing an expansion of our indoor season, to be known as our "Montford on Broadway" series. Beginning with our 35th annual production of A Christmas Carol December 9 - 19, we will be presenting three indoor productions, in December, February, and April, for at least a two week run for each production.
This expansion, and the assurance of a permanent indoor venue, will position us firmly as a year-round destination attraction in Asheville, and will enable us to offer more opportunities for audiences to see great theatre, and for more actors and technicians to practice their craft.
The Masonic Temple Theatre is a lovely gem of a performance space, with a seating capacity in excess of 200 on the main floor and overhanging balcony, wonderful acoustics, a proscenium, a thrust stage, and a full working fly-rail system, currently incorporating 45 drops and wings, all hand-painted in 1915 by Thomas Gibbs Moses of Chicago. We look forward to being able to produce some very innovative theatre in this historic building, which has been closed to the public for many years. I anticipate that we'll see an immediate increase in attendance, as many people will look forward to seeing this gorgeous building on the inside for the very first time.
We are currently discussing possibilities of incorporating a dinner into our shows, since the Temple features a large banquet hall and commercial kitchen on the main level. Under our agreement with the Temple, the Temple will receive a portion of ticket sales as their rental fee, and all rental fees will be placed in a fund designated solely for the renovation of the Temple. This means you will get to see the gradual restoration in process, as more will be accomplished with each show we produce!
We are celebrating today, and I want to take this opportunity to thank you, our audience, and you, our volunteers, for helping us grow to the point that our highly-regarded position in the theatre community has made this collaboration possible! Kudos to you all! - John Russell, Managing Director
MORE BREAKING NEWS: With the recently announced publication by The Arden Shakespeare of what was long thought to be a hoax, Double Falsehood; or, The Distrest Lovers is now officially recognized as one of William Shakespeare's "lost plays". Next summer Double Falsehood will become more embedded in the canon when the Royal Shakespeare Company mounts a production based on it as part of the first season back at its revamped Stratford-upon-Avon home.
And stay tuned as the Montford Park Players prepare a staged reading of Double Falsehood August 27 - 29 as a Greenshow prior to our production by The Asheville Shakesperience!
John Russell, Managing Director
The Montford Park Players is a 501 ( c) (3) organization and your donation is fully deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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