Olney Theatre Center's 22nd Annual Summer Shakespeare Festival Kicks Off

Olney Theatre Center, a 73-year-old professional, award-winning, year round Theatre, announces the opening of its 22nd annual Summer Shakespeare Festival and the kick off of the National Players' 63rd Tour. William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew will take to The Root Family Stage at Will's Place, the Olney Theatre Center's outdoor stage, for the this year's free Summer Shakespeare Festival on August 26 and 27 at 8:00 pm.

Since 1990, the National Players have produced an annual Summer Shakespeare production on Olney Theatre Center's open-air, outdoor stage, with the purpose of bringing classic plays to the local community and providing exposure to those that have a limited opportunity to see and learn about theatre. This year's production of The Taming of the Shrew also kicks off the 63rd tour for the National Players. Since they started operations in 1949, the National Players have earned a distinctive place in American theater by bringing innovative and accessible productions to audiences across the nation. National Players tours from mid-September to mid-May, bringing audiences of all ages to their feet at high schools, universities, and professional venues across North America including Olney Theatre Center.

"We are excited for another year of the Summer Shakespeare Festival and to kick off the 63rd tour for the National Players," said Olney Theatre Center's Associate Artistic Director Clay Hopper. "This production of The Taming of the Shrew is set in the wilds of the frontier west, and is a fast paced, funny and farcical ride with some of the Bard's most endearing characters. It is a perfect play for the beautiful outdoor environment of the Root Family Stage here at Olney Theatre Center."

Please call the Olney Theatre Center Box Office at (301) 924-3400 for reservations.

About Olney Theatre Center

Olney Theatre Center, located in Olney, Maryland, is a 73-year-old professional, award-winning, nonprofit, Equity theater whose mission is to inspire and nurture artists, students, technicians, administrators, and its audience members through its diverse array of theatrical and musical productions year round. Located in arts-rich Montgomery County, Olney Theatre Center is easily accessible from Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD. For more information please visit www.olneytheatre.org.

About the National Players

In operation since 1949, National Players is America's longest running touring company. Comprised of young professional actors, each year the company travels throughout the country (including every region of Maryland) performing two plays in repertory - one Shakespearean play and one dramatic classic. National Players reaches students and families who might otherwise have a limited opportunity to see live, classical theater. In addition, Players conducts workshops with students in such theater-related areas as Shakespeare, playwriting, acting, stage combat, scene analysis, and improvisation. Committed to the development of young theatrical talent and audiences, National Players' tours celebrate the experience of theatergoing by presenting the world's greatest dramatic literature.