Tennessee Shakespeare Company Announces Season Four

Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC), led by Producing Artistic Director Dan McCleary, today announced its fourth season, Brave New World. The Mid-South's professional, classical theatre and education organization will continue its expansion into full-year programming-including doubling the number of plays presented, indoors and out-and will launch the company's Southern Exposure series in its return to the Dixon Gallery & Gardens. This season also marks the first time Tennessee Shakespeare Company will offer season ticket packages.

The company is in the process of renovating the outdoor, wooded amphitheatre at Memphis' Shelby Farms Park, where it will stage its Shakespeare in the Park series. The first phase of renovation, funded by TSC in partnership with Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, will return the once-derelict space to a beautiful, natural arena in the woods. The "Wooden O" amphitheatre will be available for other organizations to use through Shelby Farms Park Conservancy.

"Brave New World is an appropriate title for our season as we embark on revitalizing and playing in new venues, increase our number of play offerings and outreach efforts, and launch our Southern Exposure series," said McCleary. "We experienced artistic success in our third season, as well as unprecedented audience and financial growth. Our board of directors and I felt both Tennessee Shakespeare Company and our audience were ready for this strategic and ambitious growth."

"We are pleased to welcome Tennessee Shakespeare Company, whose performances will allow us to provide a wonderful new kind of park experience," said Shelby Farms Park Conservancy executive director Laura Adams. "As the nonprofit responsible for operations and programming of America's next great urban park, we are delighted to provide this beautiful setting for outdoor performances."

The Southern Exposure series will bring classical Southern voices to a mature 21st century stage and ultimately begin developing playwrights from the South whose work deserves a national platform. This season will feature a TSC adaptation of Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory and Tennessee Williams' masterpiece, The Glass Menagerie. The Shakespeare offerings will start out darkly with the bloody Macbeth in October and conclude with the mystical The Tempest in Spring 2012.

"We at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens are thrilled to work once again with Tennessee Shakespeare Company as it launches its Southern Exposure series," said Kevin Sharp, director, Dixon Gallery & Gardens. "Our beautiful grounds and facility will provide a unique setting for these classic works by Capote and Williams."

The season also marks the company's first national co-productions. TSC's productions of The Tempest and A Christmas Memory will be seen at Shakespeare Walla Walla (Wash.).

In a season that features women in prominent roles, casting includes the return of TSC favorites Tony Molina and Vanessa Morosco as the Macbeths and Johnny Lee Davenport as Prospero in The Tempest, as well as Caley Milliken, Wolfe Coleman, Kate Abbruzzese, and Memphians Slade Kyle, Christina Wellford-Scott, Michael Khanlarian, and Phil Darius Wallace, among others.

The Brave New World season includes four re-imagined productions:

Macbeth
By William Shakespeare
Outdoors at Shelby Farms Park's Wooden O amphitheatre
Adapted and directed by Dan McCleary
(Previews October 5 and 6, 2011)
Runs October 7-23, 2011
Shakespeare's shortest tragedy is a bloody exploration of naked ambition in Scotland's Middle Ages, and could well be a morality tale for all subsequent leaders on the rise-if only it were heeded.

A Christmas Memory
By Truman Capote
Indoors in the Dixon Gallery, co-produced with Shakespeare Walla Walla
Adapted and directed by Stephanie Shine
(Previews December 14 and 15, 2011)
Runs December 16-24, 2011
In this classic memoir of author Truman Capote's childhood in 1930s rural Alabama, a tiny gem of a holiday story unfolds between 7-year-old Buddy and his loving, eccentric, and elderly cousin Sook. Adapted for Tennessee Shakespeare Company, the story embraces country life, friendship, and the joy of giving during the holiday season. Includes a Southern Christmas sing-along.

The Tempest
By William Shakespeare
Outdoors at Shelby Farms Park's Wooden O amphitheatre, co-produced with Shakespeare Walla Walla
Directed by Dan McCleary
(Previews April 11 and 12, 2012)
Runs April 13-22, 2012
Shakespeare's magical farewell to the stage is at once a mystical end to his profession and a gracious opening to the rest of our creative humanity. The Tempest is an early science fiction piece set on an island of earthen demi-devils, airy spirits, drunken servants, usurping villains, and watchful goddesses. Aging conjurer Prospero discovers forgiveness for those who stole his dukedom only after his young daughter Miranda shows him the image of loving redemption.

The Glass Menagerie
By Tennessee Williams
Outdoors at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens
Directed by Dan McCleary
(Previews May 23 and 24, 2012)
Runs May 25 - June 3, 2012
Originally written as a short story titled "Portrait of a Girl in Glass," this American Southern classic was later dramatized by Mississippi-born Williams as an autobiographical stage drama conceived fuzzily and lovingly as a memory play. It was intended as an abstract piece of glass, variously reflecting Williams' paralyzed sister, his love-smothering single mother, himself as a young man looking to escape, and the gentleman caller with a promise to free them all.

Season Ticket/General Ticket Information
Season Pass: On sale now for $80. See the entire season of indoor/outdoor classics for 30 percent off the regular ticket price.
Single Tickets: On sale October 1. All performances are $25 in advance and $30 day-of-show.
Preview Tickets: All previews are $15 regardless of when purchased.

Box Office/Administrative Offices
Located in the historic train depot at 2260 West Street, Germantown, Tenn.
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
901-759-0604
www.tnshakespeare.org

NOTE: All performances are general admission; first come/first seated. Chairs are provided for all productions. Free parking. No refunds. Casts are subject to change. Picnics are welcome at outdoor shows.

Additional programming:

Third Annual Valentine's Gala
Put on a Happy Face: An Evening with Legendary Composer Charles Strouse
Friday, February 10, 2012
Germantown Performing Arts Centre
This season's benefit Gala features a special performance by one of Broadway's most popular composers, Mr. Charles Strouse. From popular songs "Tomorrow," "Put on a Happy Face," and "Those Were the Days," to award-winning musicals Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, and Applause, this unique performance evening also includes live and silent auctions and sumptuous fare. For more information and to reserve your seat today, call TSC Development Director Christina Torres at 901-759-0620.

Educational Outreach
In addition to the professional season, TSC will conduct its Mid-South Schools Repertory Tour, January 30-February 24, 2012. This season's repertory includes: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Rebel Shakespeare and His Women. TSC educational outreach brings playshops, residencies, rehearsals, and live productions to more than 60 schools and before more than 8,000 students. TSC also provides access to free online student and teacher study guides to assist with English and language arts curriculums.

About Tennessee Shakespeare Company
Tennessee Shakespeare Company is a professional 501(c)(3) theatre and education organization which performs the plays of William Shakespeare seasonally outdoors in rotating repertory; performs classical and Southern writers seasonally indoors and outdoors through the Southern Exposure series; and provides year-round educational and training programming. Tennessee Shakespeare Company seeks to create and sustain a classical theatre that both nurtures artists and encourages audiences to exaltation, curiosity, and wonderment; be a center for the community dedicated to re-discovering faith in life by increasing awareness of reality and expanding imagination through an emphasis on the performance, education, and training of William Shakespeare's works.