The Charlotte Shakespeare Festival Presents KING LEAR 8/3-14

Following a critically-acclaimed outdoor production of Moliere's Tartuffe, The Charlotte Shakespeare Festival, the region's only free theatre festival, heads indoors for William Shakespeare's epic drama King Lear. Starring veteran professional actor Graham Smith in the title role, King Lear runs August 3-14 at the McGlohon Theatre in Spirit Square.

About King Lear
As an ageing monarch divides his kingdom among his three daughters, his world descends into chaos and all that he once believed is brought into question. Love and duty, power and loss, good and evil are all explored in King Lear, one of the greatest works in western literature.

Performances of King Lear will take place August 3-14 on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, Saturday afternoons at 2pm and Sundays at 3pm. The McGlohon Theatre is located in Spirit Square in Uptown Charlotte at 345 N. College Street.

The production is directed by Tim Ross and features a number of professional actors including Graham Smith as Lear, a role he has played twice before at the NC Shakespeare Festival and People's Light and Theatre. The cast also includes Stephen T. Ware as Gloucester, Joe Copley as Kent, Tim Ross as Edmond, J.R. Adduci as Edgar, Barbi Van Schaik at Goneril, Elise Wilkinson as Regan, Gretchen McGinty as Cordelia, Glenn Hutchinson as Albany, Ron McCelleand as Cornwall and Zack Byrd as the Fool.

Admission and Seating
There is no admission charge for King Lear, but a minimum donation of $5 per person is strongly encouraged and appreciated. Seating in the McGlohon Theatre opens 30 minutes prior to curtain. Seating is first-come, first-served. A limited number of VIP reserved seats in the front center orchestra section are available for a $25 donation and can be reserved on the festival's website. Contact the festival at hi@collaborativeartstheatre.com or 704-625-1288 for more information.

About Graham Smith
Graham Smith grew up jumping out of empty boxes in his father's family-vaudeville-magic show, graduated from Davidson College ( B.A. '77) and won a Hilberry Fellowship (M.F.A. '83). Graham has spent 20+ years with the former Charlotte Repertory Theatre, 13 seasons with the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, and is a presently a company member at People's Light and Theatre in Philadelphia, where he has acted since 1997. He has performed in over 180 plays at regional theatres including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Riverside Theatre, North Carolina Stage Company, Cape Fear Regional Theatre and The Children's Theatre of Charlotte.
Graham has received recognition for his work in Charlotte, including numerous nominations and wins for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Creative Loafing Awards, the Arts and Science Council's Creative Fellowship Award, a nomination for the Vanguard Award for contributions to the Performing Arts and was selected to serve on the Charlotte Mayor's Cultural Action Planning Commission for 1997-2002. He lives in Charlotte with his stage-manager-wife, Audrey Brown, and Henry Possum, their Golden Retriever.

About Collaborative Arts
Collaborative Arts is a non-profit, professional theatre company dedicated to producing inventive productions of classical and contemporary plays. Our goal is to offer programming not frequently available in Charlotte - in particular classical theatre, site-specific productions and professional-level training opportunities for local actors. The company produces 3 - 4 shows each season, including The Charlotte Shakespeare Festival (the region's only free Shakespeare festival). For more information, please visit www.collaborativeartstheatre.com or call 704-625-1288. Become a fan of Collaborative Arts on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Photo Credit: Mark Gavin