Olympia Dukakis Scheduled To Appear At 'PLAYFEST' 1/30, 1/31

Olympia Dukakis will appear at PlayFest on January 30 & 31 as Prospera in two readings of Another Side of the Island, her new adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest.What is PlayFest?

PlayFest - The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays is a ten-day theater event packed with dynamic new plays and new play programming for anyone who loves great theater!

PlayFest mission is to celebrate and cultivate new plays, nurture new playwrights, attract new local and national audiences, introduce the community to new theatrical voices, and provide a marketplace for local and national theater professionals.

http://www.orlandoshakes.org/

Long a vital, respected lady of the classic and contemporary stage, Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis will appear at the sixth annual PlayFest! The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays (January 23 - February 1, 2009), a production of Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF.

This grand lady with the perpetually forlorn look and worldly wise demeanor did not become a household name and sought-after film actress until age 56 when she turned in a glorious, Oscar-winning performance as Cher's sardonic mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). Since then film and TV fans have discovered what the East coast theater-going audiences had uncovered decades before -- an acting treasure. Her adaptability to various ethnicities (Greek, Italian, Jewish, Eastern European, etc.), as well her chameleon-like versatility in everything from cutting edge comedy to stark tragedy, has kept her in high demand for the past 30 years as of one of Hollywood's top notch character players.

Ms. Dukakis will appear at PlayFest on Friday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, January 31 at 5:30 p.m. as Prospera in two readings of a new adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest entitled, Another Side of the Island, written by Olympia Dukakis, Margo Whitcomb, and Gregory Hoffman. A cast of professional actors who are attached to the project will join her, including Orlando Shakes favorite Timothy Williams and Lynn Cohen (Magda, Sex in the City). The readings will take place in the Margeson Theater at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park. VIP seating (Bard seating for Signature Series shows) is $25 and all other seats are $10.

Another Side of the Island re-imagines Shakespeare's The Tempest in a surprising, often hilarious, and deeply affecting fantasy. When a woman of power is at the center of this story, set in motion by vengeance, the events look very different. Set on an island of the imagination where anything is possible and gender bending is the norm, Prospera conjures a magical tempest that brings her former enemies to shore. At last, she restores her rightful claim to the throne of Milan, insures her daughter's future and learns timeless lessons of love, the thirst for power and aging. With music ranging from gospel to funk and a highly theatrical style, this re-imagined classic is both uproarious and profound.

Additionally, Ms. Dukakis will conduct a Master Class in Acting on Wednesday, January 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Mandell Studio Theater at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center. The general public may audit the class (limit 100 seats, cost $10).

"We are thrilled to welcome Olympia to Orlando," said Orlando Shakes' Director of New Play Development, Patrick Flick. "She has been a joy to work with and we are eager to allow her to share her new work, passion for theater, experience and talent with the Central Florida community."

 

Another Side of the Island

Friday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. - Purchase Tickets

Saturday, January 31 at 5:30 p.m. - Purchase Tickets

Masters Class in Acting with Olympia Dukakis

Wednesday, January 28 from 6 to 9 p.m.

The general public may audit the class (limit 100 seats, cost $10)

2009 PlayFest Schedule

Full Productions

Wittenberg
By David Davalos
January 21 - February 15, 2009

This sprightly and hilarious battle of wits features university colleagues Dr. Faustus versus Martin Luther and their struggle for the soul of young Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Come hear the story behind the story of Hamlet in a highly entertaining and humorous exploration of reason versus faith. Featuring Eric Hissom and Jim Helsinger.

The Velveteen Rabbit: A New Musical
Based on the original story by Margery Williams
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Patrick Flick
Music and Orchestration by Amanda Wansa

January 17 - February 22, 2009

Adapted for the stage, this new musical version of The Velveteen Rabbit remains true to the original children's classic story by Margery Williams and is set in the simpler America of the early 20th Century. Let the Orlando Shakespeare Theater ignite your child's imagination with classic children's theater!

 

Keynote Event

Another Side of the Island
Adapted from Shakespeare's Tempest
By Olympia Dukakis, Margo Whitcomb & Gregory Hoffman
The Margeson Theater
Friday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 31 at 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Another Side of the Island re-imagines Shakespeare's The Tempest in a surprising, often hilarious, and deeply affecting fantasy. When a woman of power is at the center of this story, set in motion by vengeance, the events look very different. Set on an island of the imagination where anything is possible and gender-bending is the norm, Prospera conjures a magical tempest that brings her former enemies to shore. At last, she restores her rightful claim to the throne of Milan, insures her daughter's future and learns timeless lessons of love, the thirst for power and aging. With music ranging from gospel to funk and a highly theatrical style, this re-imagined classic is at once uproarious and profound.

 

Workshops

The Chimes
By Kevin Christopher Snipes
The Mandell Theater
Saturday, January 24 at 8:15 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.
Sunday, January 25 at 2:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Saturday, January 31 at 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, February 1 at 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.

On the eve of World War II, four boys in a New England boarding school are brought together by their love of Shakespeare and torn apart by the approaching war.

Missing Celia Rose
By Ian August
The Mandell Theater
Saturday, January 24 at 3:30 p.m - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, January 25 at 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 31 at Noon - 2 p.m.
Sunday, February 1 at 5:15 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.

After the Civil War, a small town harmoniously integrated its freed slaves. But when a young white boy uncovers the secret behind the disappearance of the minister's wife, his discoveries change the town forever.

Readings

Charm
By Kathleen Cahill
The Goldman Theater
Sunday, January 25 at 5:15 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.
Sunday, February 1 at 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Charm is a magical dance through the life of the writer and women's rights activist Margaret Fuller, which focuses on a brilliant imagining of Ms. Fuller's personal life. As our hearts are pulled into her personal passions, we are given a first-hand view of her robust and complex relationships with the writing and philosophical giants of her time - Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, and others.

The Ghosts of Sleepy Hollow
By Eric Hissom
Goldman Theater
Saturday, January 24 at 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 1 at 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

A haunting retelling of this classic American tale. You'll laugh your head off! When you're not too busy being TERRIFIED!

Notre Dame de Paris
Based on Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Adapted by Suzanne O'Donnell
Studio B
Saturday, January 24 at Noon - 2 p.m.
Sunday, February 1 at 2:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Notre Dame de Paris is based on characters and events in Victor Hugo's masterpiece The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The Cathedral is both the setting and a catalyst as Hugo's iconic characters play out their tragic fates.

The Queen's Physician
By John MacNicholas
Studio B
Sunday, January 25 at 8 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 31 at 8:15 p.m. - 10:45 p.m.

A depiction of an errotic power struggle in the court of Queen Elizabeth I involving her Jewish physician, Roger Lopez, and her young lover, Essex. Watch these historical figures dissect heroic loyalties, conflicting in a world poisoned with defeated love, fear of Hispanic dominance, and religious fanaticism.

Shotgun
By John Biguenet
Studio B
Friday, January 23 at 7:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Tuesday, January 27 at 6:15 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

Set four months after the flood, a white man and his teenage son made homeless by Katrina rent half of a shotgun double from an African-American woman, whose own father has lost his house in the Lower Ninth Ward and moved in with her. These four New Orleanians, white and black living under one roof, try to rebuild their lives in a city still in shambles. Seething racial tensions bubble to the surface when love blossoms.

The Tragedy of John Wilkes Booth
By Chris Gavaler
Studio B
Sunday, January 25 at 5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Macbeth, Hamlet, Marc Anthony---John Wilkes Booth played Shakespeare's greatest tragic heroes, and in an afterlife encore, he remains trapped in those roles as he relives his plot to kill the President.

Yankee Tavern
By Steven Dietz
Studio B
Saturday, January 24 at 5:30pm-7:30pm
Sunday, February 1 at Noon - 2 p.m.

A young couple is caught in a web of conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 attacks, when in an instant outlandish hypothesis becomes dangerous reality as critical facts continue to emerge.

 

Guest Presenters

Orlando Opera Presents...

Dark Lady of the Sonnets
Music by Philip Hagemann
Libretto by the Composer
Based on the play by George Bernard Shaw
The Mandell Theater
Friday, January 23 at 8:15 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Thursday, January 29 at 7:15 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

It's nearly midnight, around the year 1600, on the terrace of the Palace of Whitehall. A beefeater is standing guard outside Queen Elizabeth's quarters. Shakespeare slinks onto the terrace for a rendezvous with his Dark Lady. Instead he encounters the pensive queen, who hides her identity. Shakespeare feels romantic sparks when the mysterious woman shows a flair for poetic speech. A word thief, he is quick to jot down usable phrases. Intrigue and worse break out when the Dark Lady arrives. But at the end the queen suggests a secret collaboration with Shakespeare on a play for which she has a Working Title, "Twelfth Night."
Women Playwrights' Initiative Presents...

The Galt Regency
By Judith Montague
The Goldman Theater
Tuesday, January 27th: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Saturday, January 31st: 2:15pm-4:15pm

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson, marrying him shortly after the death of his first wife. She was known as "the Secret President," because in 1919, the President had a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and severely disabled. The Galt Regency tells the compelling story of Mrs. Wilson during these years of Wilson's prolonged illness, when she very strictly controlled access to the President, decided which if any government matters should be presented to him, and kept even his closest advisors away from her husband and in the dark about the severity of his condition. The actions of this strong and formidable woman left those close to the President wondering who indeed was running the country.

 

SPECIAL EVENTS

Panel - "What is the Role of a Director in New Play Development"

The Mandell Theater
Sunday, January 25 at Noon -1:30 p.m.

Play in a Day Selection

The Mandell Theater
Sunday, January 25 at 1:30 p.m.

Fringe 101

The McLaughlin
Sunday, January 25 at 2 p.m.

Play in a Day

The Margeson
Monday, January 26 at 7 p.m.

Master Class with Olympia Dukakis

The Mandell Theater
Wednesday, January 28 at 6 - 9 p.m.

Fringe 102 Class

The McLaughlin
Sunday, February 1 at 2 p.m.