One-Man Play CRY HAVOC to Headline SHAKE 38

In addition to dozens of performances throughout the city, SHAKE 38 will feature its first headlining event, Cry Havoc, a one-man play written and performed by actor/veteran Stephan Wolfert, at 2 p.m. on Sat., April 23 at the St. Louis Public Library - Central Branch.

As part of the five-day event, Wolfert will lead his audience on an interactive journey to meet Shakespeare's veterans, and confront the difficulties today's soldiers face in leaving military service to rejoin the civilian world. The powerful one-person play speaks to the impact of theater as a tool for social change and the way the themes of Shakespeare's 400-year-old works resonate meaningfully in modern life. The Festival will also host a Cry Havoc writing workshop for veterans from 10 a.m. to noon on April 23 at the library. Both the workshop and the performance are free, though advance reservations are encouraged and can be made through the website at www.sfstl.com.

Scheduled from April 19-23, with locations throughout St. Louis, SHAKE 38 performances are limited only by one's imagination. Events are free and nearly all are open to the public. For a detailed schedule, including times and dates, please visit www.sfstl.com. Other highlights this year include:

• · Affton High School seniors performing Romeo and Juliet: The Speed Version in 30 Seconds at the St. Louis Zoo;

• · The grand opening of the Old North Shakespeare Garden, featuring an adaptation of Twelfth Night performed by neighborhood children;

• · King Ausar, St. Louis' own Zumba aficionado, conducting a class to a reading of Henry V in Old North;

• · Theatre Nuevo performing The Merry Wives of Tinder, in which the audience will get a glimpse into the inbox of modern singles as the group stumbles through the online dating realm at Milquetoast in McKinley Heights;

• · The Improv Shop performing a condensed and fully improvised version of Shakespeare's Henry VIII;

• · Whisk Bakeshop's transformation into a battlefield - sprinkles will fly and breads will roll -- as The Undiscovered Company tries to figure out who's going to take over King Henry IV's bakery once he's gone.

"Every year our SHAKE 38 performances reach a new level in creativity and participation, and this year is no exception," said Rick Dildine, artistic and executive director of the Festival. "The addition of our headlining act enriches the experience for our audiences even more. Stephan Wolfert in Cry Havoc presents an incredible argument for support for veterans transitioning to civilian life, and more importantly, he gives insight to civilians of what it means to serve."

SHAKE 38 was introduced in 2010, as an around-the-clock urban experience highlighting Shakespeare's entire canon in every neighborhood in St. Louis in 38 hours. In 2012 the event expanded to five days. SHAKE 38 is sponsored by Nancy and Ken Kranzberg and the Riverfront Times. Cry Havoc is presented in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council, and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Greater St. Louis Public Library.

SHAKE 38 will be followed by the Festival's mainstage production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, June 3-26, at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park. The 2016 season will culminate with the fifth annual Shakespeare in the Streets (Sept. 16-18) in Maplewood.