LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST to Tour Shelby County in Tennessee Shakespeare Company's Free Series

Tennessee Shakespeare Company's Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series will return for its tenth season this fall, featuring the pastoral comedy Love's Labor's Lost at eleven different outdoor venues throughout the Shelby County area for free September 25 – October 18. The production also plays two indoor performances on TSC's Tabor Stage for half-price admission on Sunday, September 27 and Friday, October 2.

William Shakespeare's feast of language with a surprise ending is edited to run 90 minutes without intermission in the Series, which launches TSC's 19th season in Memphis.

Love's Labor's Lost is generously sponsored by Evans Petree PC, with the National Endowment for the Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, The Shakespeare Fund of Theater League of Kansas City, and an ArtsFirst grant from First Horizon Foundation.

The Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series spans four weeks, opening on September 25 outdoors on the lake at Bartlett Performing Arts Center. Other venues include Collierville Town Square's Train Depot, Davies Manor in Bartlett, Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Elmwood Cemetery, Overton Park Shell, Overton Square's Chimes Square Amphitheatre, Raleigh Library (lakeside), Reverie in LaGrange, St. George's Church in Germantown, and Wiseacre Brewery's Broad Avenue location.

Directed by TSC Associate Artistic Producer Stephanie Shine, the production features the Series' largest-ever cast: a 14-actor ensemble that includes TSC veterans Marquis Dijon Archuleta (Marcade), Andrew Christenson (Dull), Lauren Hester Gunn (Holofernes/Forester), Stuart Heyman (Sir Nathaniel), Taylor Slonaker (Costard), and Cheleen Sugar (Princess of France), and TSC newcomers Austin Atencio (Longaville), James Cardwell (Berowne), Ethan Courter (Dumaine), Detalion Dixon (King of Navarre), Anna Hefner (Katherine/Jaquenetta), Andy McCain (Don Armado), Madison Prentiss (Rosaline), and Iz Walsh (Maria/Moth). The design team includes Jeremy Allen Fisher (scenic and lighting) and Allison White (costumes). Nico Meisner is the Production Stage Manager.

In Love's Labor's Lost, four determined men discover that love is no match for a scholarly vow. The King of Navarre and his companions swear to devote themselves to study and avoid the company of women for three years, only to have their resolve tested when the Princess of France and her ladies arrive. As the men fall in love, their vows give way to secret letters, poetic declarations, and schemes; and the women delight in turning their lofty words back upon them. Their plans unfold as the antics of the heartsick Spanish knight Don Armado and his quick-witted page Moth, the irreverent clown Costard, and the zealous scholar Holofernes throw the festivities delightfully off course. But just as the lovers expect their romantic pursuits to end in celebration, unexpected news arrives to challenge both the festivities and notions of love.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Bartlett Performing Arts Center (lakeside) — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 at 7:00 pm

Collierville Town Square's Train Depot — SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 at 7:00 pm

TSC's Tabor Stage (paid) — SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 at 3:00 pm

TSC's Tabor Stage (paid) — FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2 at 7:00 pm

Elmwood Cemetery (paid; through Elmwood) — SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 at 6:00 pm

Dixon Gallery and Gardens — SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 at 3:00 pm

Wiseacre Brewery, 2783 Broad Avenue — THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8 at 7:00 pm

St. George's Church, 2425 S. Germantown Rd. — FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 at 7:00 pm

Raleigh Library, 3452 Austin Peay Hwy. (lakeside) — SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10 at 3:00 pm

Overton Park Shell — SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11 at 5:00 pm

Overton Square's Chimes Sq. Amphitheatre — FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 at 7:00 pm

Reverie, 23660 TN-HWY 57, LaGrange — SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 at 5:00 pm

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