Cast Announced For Northeast Regional Tour Of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET

Shakespeare & Company has announced the cast of the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare's production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Kevin G. Coleman.

From February to May, the tour will present a full production of Romeo and Juliet along with a variety of related workshops in middle and high schools, colleges, and other venues across the Northeast. Kaitlin Henderson, Shakespeare & Company's education tour and professional development manager, said the tour - which reaches approximately 20,000 students and audience members across eight states - is returning this year after missing two seasons due to COVID-19 precautions.

"Because of that, we have been having ongoing conversations about how the world has changed, how we as artists have changed, and how students have changed during the pandemic," she said. "We all are seeking new ways of expressing our experiences and engaging with the world around us. Theater does that. Shakespeare and his language do that. And we hope to offer that to students through our production of Romeo and Juliet."

The tour will also include three public performances at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass.: on Saturday, Feb. 11, the tour presents I'll Be Thine, Valentine: Romeo and Juliet. On Saturday, March 25, a special sensory-friendly performance will be presented, and on Saturday, April 22, an American Sign Language-interpreted performance will be staged -- all at the Tina Packer Playhouse.

The 2023 Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare's cast of Romeo and Juliet includes:

Travis Ascione

(Tybalt / Paris / Prince Escalus / Peter)

Ascione is an actor and educator based out of Chicago, Il. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Westminster College, a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from The University of Southern Mississippi, and is a Certified Practitioner and member of the Lessac Training and Research Institute. Past roles include Macbeth (Macbeth), Charles II (Nell Gwynn), and Sky Masterson (Guys & Dolls).

Cameron Davis

(Romeo / Sampson)

Davis is making his Shakespeare & Company debut this year. He's recently appeared as Fish in The Royale (Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado); Sheriff in Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Creede Repertory Theatre); Donalbain in Macbeth; Stokes in How to Catch Creation (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Belize in Perestroika, Frederick in The Rover; Avery in The Flick (Oregon Center for the Arts), and Tom in Actually (BLACK SWAN Project).

Ptah Garvin

(Lord Capulet / Balthasar)

Garvin is making his Shakespeare & Company debut this year. Originally from Atlanta, Ga., he is a recent graduate of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, where he received his MFA in acting. Some of his previous credits include Pipeline (The Warehouse Theatre); Our Town, Twilight Los Angelos 1992, Julius Caesar (FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training).

JoJo McDonald

(Mercutio / Lord Montague / Sister Joan)

McDonald is an actor, tap dancer, and teaching artist based in Queens, N.Y. She has taught at Shakespeare & Company and in other community art initiatives such as Community Access to The Arts in Great Barrington, Mass., and They Dance For Rain in Nairobi, Kenya. McDonald studied at Williams College and completed the Month-Long Intensive at Shakespeare & Company in January 2020.

Stephanie Neuerburg

(Nurse / Friar Lawrence / Abraham)

Neuerburg is a Chicago-based performer, writer, and podcaster. Her theater work has been featured at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., among others. Her poetry has been published in Okay Donkey, Lazy Women, and dirt children literary magazines, and her original play Science Night was a finalist for the John Cauble Outstanding Short Play award. When not performing, she works as a docent on the architecture boat tour on the Chicago River.

Savanna Padilla

(Lady Capulet / Benvolio)

Padillais an Actor and Teaching Artist originally from Humboldt County California. Her theater-credits include: Shakespeare in Love, Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles, Off the Rails (U/S, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Pick Me Last (La Jolla Playhouse); Life Sucks (Cygnet Theatre); Christmas Contigo (Oregon Cabaret);The Refugee Hotel (Latinx Play Project); The Madres, The Return of Tartuffe (Ashland New Plays Festival); The Epic of Gilgamesh (Oregon Fringe Festival); Dream Hou$e (Latinx New Play Festival); Written in Stone (La Jolla Playhouse WOW Fest); Saints Go Marching (Ingenio Milagro Festival).SOU credits: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, The Secret Garden, The Crucible, Little Shop of Horrors, Caliban's Dreams, Horse Girls. UC San Diego credits: Shame Spiral, Life is a Dream, Orestes 2.0, Elektra, HEAP, A Midsummer Night's Dream. BFA in Acting: Southern Oregon University, MFA: UC San Diego.

Naire Poole

(Juliet / Gregory / Lady Montague)

Poole is fresh off of her performance as Margaret/the Sexton in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare & Company, where she also featured as Elizabeth Darcy in a staged reading of The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley. Other past roles include: Antigone (Antigone), Hermia (A Midsummer Night's Dream), three (hang), Dave Moss (Glengarry Glenross), and Hamlet (Hamlet). When she isn't tackling roles that explore complexity in interpersonal relationships, she is a Director and Teaching Artist; ablaze to adjust theatrical structures into inclusive, healing, and meaningful spaces.

For more information, email northeastregionaltour@gmail.com, or call (413) 637-1199 ext. 108.

This production is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

Photo Caption: The Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare's cast of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Kevin G. Coleman, features Travis Ascione, Cameron Davis, Ptah Garvin, JoJo McDonald, Stephanie Neuerburg, Savanna Padilla, and Naire Poole.

Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Company offers performance, education, and actor-training year-round, attracting more than 40,000 patrons annually with a core of more than 150 artists.

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