Shakespeare & Company Presents THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Next Month

The 2024 Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare will stage The Course of True Love: A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Tom Jaeger on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m., at the Tina Packer Playhouse on the Shakespeare & Company campus.

Part of the company's long tradition of offering performances on or near Valentine's Day, the tour's rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream underscores and illustrates the course of love with humor, chaos, and of course, romance. This special performance is just one stop on an annual tour that sends productions of Shakespeare's plays, along with a variety of related workshops, into middle and high schools, colleges, community centers, and other venues from February through May.

Two additional public performances at the Tina Packer Playhouse are also slated; at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, the tour presents a sensory-friendly performance, and on Saturday, April 20, an open-captioned performance will be staged.

The Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare reaches more than 20,000 students, teachers, and audience members each year, and has been part of Shakespeare & Company's repertoire since 1982.

The 2024 cast of the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream includes:

Luke Haskell (Theseus / Oberon)

Pronouns he/him

Luke's credits at Shakespeare & Company: George Wickham, (The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley) Costard, (Love's Labor's Lost), Lysander/Flute, (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Paris/Prince/Gregory, (Romeo & Juliet), Hamlet/Decius Brutus (I Have Had a Most Rare Vision), Roles elsewhere: The Conspirators (Chicago, Ill.): Opposition Leader, (The InEptidemic.) Rooted Voyageurs: Benvolio/Friar Lawrence, (Romeo & Juliet). Advice to the Players (NH): Duke Vincentio, (Measure for Measure), Lucentio (The Taming of the Shrew). Aglet Theater Company: Tom (These Shining Lives). UMass Theater Department: Dwight (Dead Man's Cell Phone), Roland (Constellations), Van (Dog Sees God), Stephano/Ensemble/Musician (The Merchant of Venice). In 2019, he was nominated for Best Actor in a Play by the New Hampshire Theater Alliance, for his portrayal of the Duke in Measure for Measure. He has composed music for several productions, and is currently workshopping his play A Midsummer Night's Nightmare, a spooky adaptation of the Shakespeare classic. He has worked for the Education department at Shakespeare & Company since 2016.

Darius A. Journigan (Lysander / Mustardseed / Snug Pronouns)

Pronouns he/him

Darius A. Journigan, a Detroit native, has spent over two decades enriching the theatre, film, and commercial scenes in Chicago and NYC. A versatile member of the Family Repertory Company since 2016, he actively engages in acting, teaching, and directing. Notable performances include Christian in Ruined at the Athens & Epidaurus Festival in Greece, and Narrator in How Black Mothers Say I Love You, directed by Kenny Leon. His dynamic roles as James Baldwin in A Revolutionary Peoples History (Poor Peoples Campaign/ NAACP) and Hal Carter in Picnic (AADA) highlight his adaptability. Darius has also appeared in the 2023 film McKenzie McCoy on Amazon Prime and as T.O. in B-Side Studios' The Realness. Offstage, he pioneers the annual Working Actor Masterclass, fostering emerging talents. His extensive work and mentorship have made him an esteemed figure in the theater community.

Charlie Lavaroni (Puck / Egeus / Starvling / Philostrate)

Pronouns they/she/ he

Charlie Lavaroni is a bi-coastal actor and teaching artist. They have proudly worked with: SFBATCO, Shakespeare & Co., Livermore Shakespeare Festival (SPARC), Pac Rep, SF Shakespeare Festival, Hamlet Isn't Dead in NYC; Big Idea Theatre, and the Davis Shakespeare Festival. Some of his favorite recent credits include: Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream); Pisanio (Cymbeline); Clown- over 14 different characters! (The 39 Steps); Nell Gwyn (Charlie and Nell); Hades (Shining); and Touchstone (As You Like It). They have played roles ranging from Nell Gwyn to Hades (and plenty of Shakespearian ladies in-between). She has trained at Shakes and Co's month-long intensive and is a Company member at SF Shakes. Gemini Sun/Cap Moon.

Amberlin McCormick (Titania / Hippolyta / Peter Quince)

Amberlin was born and raised in North Carolina. Amberlin loves Shakespeare and is excited to share her passion and knowledge all over the North East United States. Amberlin's credits include: Viola in Twelfth Night (National Black Theatre Festival), Millie in Trouble in Mind (The Clarence Brown Theatre) Belle in a Christmas Carol (The Clarence Brown Theatre) Eurydice in Eurydice (Warehouse Performing Arts Center) and Avigail in The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph (River and Rail Theatre). Training: MFA at University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Tom Reynolds (Demetrius / Flute)

Pronouns he/him

Tom Reynolds has been working as an actor and education artist at Shakespeare & Company since 2017. He has performed in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2017) and Love's Labour's Lost (2018) at Shakespeare & Company. He has also taught in their education programs, such as Riotous Youth and Fall Festival for the past several years. He graduated from UMass Amherst in 2020 with a BA in Theater, in 2019 he attended the British American Drama Academy (BADA) in London. In college, he specialized in clown, stage combat and Linklater voice work. Tom is excited to join Shakespeare & Company's Northeast Regional Tour for the first time as Demetrius and Flute.

Anna Rock (Helena / Bottom)

Pronouns she/her

Anna Rock is delighted to join Shakespeare & Co. after loving the Fall Festival at age 15! ~Recent credits~ Texas Shakespeare Festival: Taming of the Shrew (Katherina), Nell Gwynn (Nancy), The Music Man (Mrs. Shinn), Hamlet (Polonius/Gravedigger), Much Ado About Nothing (Dogberry/Ursula), Lost Nation Theater: As You Like It (Rosalind), Kate Hamill's Pride & Prejudice (Mr. Bingley/Mary), Winnipesaukee Playhouse: On Golden Pond (Chelsea), Peterborough Players: Wind in the Willows (Rat), Monsterpiece Theater: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Puck), and 31 Trump supporters in the Off-Broadway solo show Trump Rally. Training: Sarah Lawrence College, Moscow Art Theater School, National Theatre Institute, Accademia dell'Arte, UCB. See Anna perform improv in NYC with Story Pirates, and listen to her on podcasts like Wondery's The Cat in the Hat Cast, The Story Pirates Podcast, and Little Miss Kate - Ward of the State. Love to everybody I've ever met! Even Lucy, Mom, Dad, and Sean!

Kristin Yates (Hermia / Peaseblossom / Snout)

Pronouns she/her

Kristin is so excited to make her Shakespeare & Company acting debut! While this is her first time performing at Shakespeare & Company she has worked with the Education Program before, directing in The Fall Festival of Shakespeare and working on the spring residencies team. Kristin has her B.F.A from Ohio University in Theatre Performance. Some of her favorite roles include Urinetown and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (The Studio Theatre TDS), Little Shop of Horrors, and Caroline Or Change (Tantrum Theater). She would like to thank God for his continued blessings, her family for their support, and her mom, especially for being her number one fan!

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