Water Works Theatre Company and Terp Theatre have partnered to bring Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona to life for hearing and deaf audiences. The two organizations will present fully interpreted performances of the play in Royal Oak's Starr Jaycee Park (1101 West 13 Mile Road) on Sunday July 25 at 3pm and Friday August 6 at 8pm. Tickets ($18) are available now at www.waterworkstheatre.com and one hour prior to performances at the Starr Jaycee Park box office.
In The Two Gentlemen of Verona, two best pals give the word "gentlemen" a bad name in Water Works, hilariously slick, 60s-styled comedy. These guys chase the same woman around Italy, while the gal they left behind puts on a man's suit and chases the truth!
Terp Theatre's team of sign language interpreters specialize in shadowing - instead of interpreting off to the side of the stage, they're included on-stage and move throughout the actors. The interpreters are costumed and blend into the cast. The result is that they become a part of the stage picture. Deaf patrons are able to truly enjoy the performance and many hearing people report finding shadowing lessdistracting than when interpreters appear to the side or even in the audience. Combined with Water Works unique outdoor setting, these performances will be a rewarding experiences for hearing and deaf audiences in Starr Jaycee Park.
"Shakespeare productions are rarely shadow-interpreted," stated Dan McDougal of Terp Theatre. "Water Works has completely opened up the production to us ensuring that we can rehearse with the cast - which has been extremely open to the process of working with interpreters. We hope this is the beginning of an ongoing summer tradition for Michigan's Deaf community." More information on Terp Theatre is available on their website at terptheatre.com
The Two Gentlemen of Verona will cap Water Works Theatre Company's tenth annual production in Starr Jaycee Park and the theatre's 9th Shakespeare play. The milestone production will be directed by Barton Bund, the Founding Artistic Director of Ann Arbor's award-winning Blackbird Theatre. His previous directing credits include his original musicals The Glob and Patty Hearst, as well as Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, How the Other Half Loves, the Blackbird's all African-American Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Battery, and his adaptations of
D.H. Lawrence's The Rainbow and Women in Love. A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, Bart is also a nominee for the
Williamstown Theatre Festival's L.
Arnold Weissberger Award for excellence in playwriting, former staff writer for Mosaic Youth Theatre, and a Purple Rose Theatre Playmaker Playwright. He currently lives in Ann Arbor with his family and their menagerie.
Water Works Theatre Company will also present its second annual daylight family show production, Lane Riosley's The Commedia Tales of King Arthur Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm, and Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11:00am in Starr Jaycee Park.
Since 2001, Water Works Theatre Company has produced eight Shakespeare plays, one
Neil Simon comedy, an award-winning drama about the plight and story of Iraqi women, a commedia show for kids, and eight summers of KidsAct! outdoor performance workshops. Those productions were: A Midsummer Night's Dream (2001), Taming of The Shrew (2002), Much Ado About Nothing (2003), Twelfth Night (2004), As You Like It (2005), Comedy of Errors (2006), Barefoot In The Park (2007), Romeo & Juliet (2008),
Heather Raffo's 9 Parts of Desire (2007 & 2008), Macbeth (2009) and The Commedia Robin Hood by Lane Riosley (2009).
Water Works Theatre Company, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional theatre company that provides professional caliber experience to the emerging professional theatre artist. The company is proud to be presenting its 10th annual Skakespeare in the Park in Royal Oak without the aid of local tax payer dollars. For more information log on to: www.waterworkstheatre.com.
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