Actor's Shakespeare Project Reveals 2011 Winter Festival Line-Up

Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP) dives into 2011 with The Winter Festival, three productions that celebrate language, storytelling and company. The Winter Festival begins with Cymbeline (February 9 – February 20), directed by company member Doug Lockwood. Following Cymbeline is The Hotel Nepenthe (February 25 – March 6) written by company member John Kuntz, winner of the 2010 Elliot Norton award for Best New Play (The Salt Girl), and directed by David R. Gammons. Finally, closing the festival is Living in Exile (March 9 – March 20) written by local playwright Jon Lipsky and directed by ASP Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. The Winter Festival will be housed at a new venue for ASP: The Storefront on Elm in the heart of Davis Square (255 Elms Street) in Somerville.

Cymbeline, The Hotel Nepenthe, & Living in Exile are the tour?de?force that comprise The Winter Festival, which strives to engage audiences in magnificent writing, brave storytelling, and the exploration of memory through three distinct and different lenses. "Some four hundred years ago, young Will Shakespeare was a budding playwright whose work was nurtured by an Acting Company, and for that, his legacy exists" says Allyn Burrows. "This festival aims to carry on this tradition!"

In the Impressionistic romance Cymbeline, Shakespeare conjures a fable?like piece brimming with surprise, suspense, and wonder as he illuminates a playful and odd set of relationships that attempt to untangle a knot of betrayals and misjudgments. The Hotel Nepenthe plays on a series of loose memories as the lives of 17 people merge in a cold, dark city with the Hotel Nepenthe tying them together. Playwright Jon Lipsky recounts the The Illiad in Living in Exile, injecting the years spent by American soldiers in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq and the experience of soldiers' wives into this epic war?story. Interwoven, these three plays each evoke a sense of mystery and illusion and resonate with us as the characters try to navigate their very human struggles.

Around the play, ASP will hold its traditional post show discussions following the Sunday matinee performances.

Visit www.actorsshakespeareproject.org for more information.