Canadian Stage Announces 2011 Dream in High Park: The Winter’s Tale, Closes 9/4

Canadian Stage presents William Shakespeare's romantic comedy The Winter's Tale as the 2011 Dream in High Park. The fairytale worlds of Bohemia and Sicilia will come to life under the direction of Estelle Shook, former artistic director of British Columbia's renowned outdoor theatre company Caravan Farm Theatre. Performances will end on September 4, 2011 at the High Park Amphitheatre at 8 p.m. In keeping with annual tradition, admission will be pay-what-you-can and Canadian Stage will offer a series of free, all-ages and family-friendly activities and events.

"This year's Dream in High Park is truly a contemporary fairytale," says Artistic & General Director Matthew Jocelyn. "Director Estelle Shook's vision makes the story, with its twists and turns and ultimately happy ending, accessible and relevant to an audience of all ages. We're so pleased to share the work of one of Canada's leading outdoor theatre directors and we are convinced that Estelle will bring a new energy and new vitality to the Dream."

Shook, a seasoned outdoor theatre veteran, brings expertise and big ideas from the west, having worked with casts of actors and horses on performances staged in every corner of an 80 acre farm. Her work with Caravan Farm Theatre focused on staging classic works in site-specific settings, incorporating live music, spectacular design, and working with horses as stage machinery. She is well-suited to create imaginative staging that fills the High Park Amphitheatre and tells this age-old story in an exciting and compelling way.

"This is a play that celebrates being a story," says director Estelle Shook. "With the folk tales of old as my inspiration, I will celebrate the magic, mystery, and beauty in The Winter's Tale, using the power of music and the spectacle of the outdoor stage."

The Winter's Tale is a romantic comedy filled with kings and queens, shipwrecks and statues that come to life, songs and a bear! Family ties and love triangles are complicated by prophecies, perceptions and disguises. This adaptation of one of Shakespeare's classic tales will be an enchanting, high-energy and celebratory tale of lessons learned (by both the characters and the audience).

The 2011 Dream in High Park production will be performed al fresco by a cast of ten actors and musicians, with original music composed by local artist John Millard. One of Toronto's favourite summer traditions for 29 years, the Dream in High Park is the oldest annual outdoor theatre event in the country with an estimated total attendance of 1.3 million people. In 2010, more than 27,000 audience members attended the Dream in High Park.

About the Dream in High Park:
Free-Programming: On-site event programming includes Family Day Sundays, a popular, free, all-ages program for children, parents and families featuring backstage tours, an opportunity to meet cast members, workshops exploring the language of the Bard and more. Held at the High Park amphitheatre on Sundays, the program runs July 3 to September 4, from 5 - 6:30 p.m., weather permitting. Registration is encouraged. Registration requests will be accepted June through September. Contact 416.367.8243 x266 or family@canadianstage.com for more information.

Location: Performed at the Amphitheatre in High Park at Bloor St. W. & High Park Ave. Directions from High Park subway station: Enter the park from Bloor St. Follow the road to the Grenadier Café. Continue east on the foot path opposite the parking lot marked by a sign.

Details: Gate opens at 6 p.m. Admission is PWYC at the gate (suggested minimum donation $20) and free for children 14 and under. Family Day Sundays feature free, all-ages, pre-show activities. For information on the Dream in High Park, please contact 416.367.1652 or canadianstage.com.

About Estelle Shook:
Estelle Shook recently stepped down as Artistic Director of British Columbia's nationally acclaimed Caravan Farm Theatre, where from 1998 to 2010 she produced, developed, and directed over thirty outdoor productions for the company. Highlights include The Ballad of Weedy Peetstraw, a "Bluegrass Opera" based on Goethe's Faust by Peter Anderson and John Millard; Cowboy King and IOU Land, two western tragedies by Linz Kenyon adapted from Tennyson's Idylls of the King and Wagner's Ring Cycle; and her pioneering works utilizing the horse as stage-machine: Macbeth, King Lear, and Mother Courage and Her Children. Her last large scale production for Caravan Farm Theatre was Everyone, a modern morality play in seven horse drawn acts created with six Vancouver theatre companies: The Electric Company, Neworld Theatre, November Theatre, Pound of Flesh Theatre, Theatre Melee, and Theatre Replacement.

About Canadian Stage:
Founded in 1987 with the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre, Canadian Stage is one of Canada's leading not-for-profit Contemporary Theatre companies. Led by Artistic & General Director Matthew Jocelyn, Canadian Stage produces and showcases innovative theatre work from Canada and around the world, allowing its audience to encounter daring work guided by a strong directorial vision and a 21st-century aesthetic. The company prides itself on presenting trans-disciplinary work and work in translation that pushes the boundaries of form and style. The company reinforces the presence of Canadian art and artists within an international context through work that mirrors the cultural diversity of Toronto. Canadian Stage has a long-standing commitment to education and enhancement programs for the public and investing in the art form by nurturing and developing theatre professionals while producing thought-provoking theatre and quality entertainment in Toronto, one of North America's largest theatre centres. For more information, refer to canadianstage.com.

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