Austin Shakespeare Presents Short Shakespeare In Zilker Park

For one weekend only, Austin Shakespeare is bringing Short Shakespeare to the Zilker Hillside Theater. Featuring four plays with five actors and two musicians, Short Shakespeare will be performed free at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 18-21.

The four Shakespeare plays include 20-minute versions of: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. Gwendolyn Kelso will direct all four comedies.

Austin Shakespeare Artistic Director Ann Cicccolella said Short Shakespeare will offer something for everyone. "If you've never seen Shakespeare, these four abbreviated plays with their comedic spirit will be a great introduction," she said. "And those who love The Bard will have a wonderful time with these talented actors and the creative interpretations."

Five actors will portray all the characters in all four plays. Isaac Howell has performed with Austin Shakespeare in the last year in both Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility. Wallis Brown and Schaeffer Certenberg are both majoring in theatre at Texas State University. Born in Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford on Avon, Luke Ellis, who trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, London, is new to Austin. Also making her Austin Shakespeare debut is Isabelle Dickey who received a BFA in Acting from Ithaca College.

Designers include resident designer Patrick Anthony for sets and lighting, Kristin ___ for costumes, Tressa Gilmer for properties.

World's Fastest Hamlet has been brought to area schools by Austin Shakespeare for many years. The other Shakespeare plays that will be presented were adapted by Emily Lyon and Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre, creators of expandthecanon.com: One-Twelfth Night, Tiny Tempest and Midsummer: Tedious & Brief.

The audience is encouraged to bring blankets, low chairs, and a picnic to enjoy their evening on the grassy hillside. Some chairs are available. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Zilker Hillside Theater is accessible to all audience members. Alcohol and glass containers are prohibited in all City of Austin parks.

ABOUT AUSTIN SHAKESPEARE: "The Bard is only the beginning." Audiences travel many roads with this professional company for surprising and entertaining theater productions featuring heightened language at The Long Center's Rollins Studio Theatre in the fall and spring, as well as Young Shakespeare at the Curtain Theater Elizabethan replica. Founded in 1984 and now the only professional classical theater company in Central Texas, Austin Shakespeare stages performances that are fresh, bold, imaginative, thought-provoking and eminently accessible - connecting the truths of the past with the challenges and possibilities of today. Austin Shakespeare is dedicated to diverse casting, staffing and audience development. The company's ongoing "Shakespeare Aloud" reading group and "Artist's Way" sessions invite new participates weekly, and the company's education program Shakespeare 20/20 sends professional actors into schools to encourage love of language. #ATXTheatre

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