Actors' Theatre of Columbus Sets 35th Anniversary Season

In 1982, Actors' Theatre of Columbus (ATC) kicked off its first season with a single production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The success of that season proved that Schiller Park was an excellent venue for open air Shakespearean theater, and the troupe has continued this tradition for 35 years. Actors' Theatre will perform its 100th play in Schiller in 2016.

"We've come a long way since those initial performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream," shared Artistic Director Philip J. Hickman. "In those 35 years, ATC has grown from performing on the grass lawn to performing on our dedicated amphitheater stage. We have presented Shakespeare, musicals, and world premieres, as well as training exceptional artists in our classes, internships, and school collaborations."

In 2015, Actors' Theatre suffered the loss of visionary long-term artistic director John S. Kuhn. Playwright, actor, and director Philip J. Hickman guided the company through the remainder of the season and was hired as Mr. Kuhn's successor in the artistic director's position.

Hickman continues, "As an arts organization with the incredible privilege of presenting free theater in a public park, we have an obligation to reflect and celebrate the diversity of our community. Classic theater is classic because it speaks to the human condition and inspires our lives. We are committed to leading our community in artistic excellence and vision."

ATC's 2016 performance season will include a world premiere adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo (June 23 - July 17), as well as Shakespeare's Othello (May 26 - June 19) and The Winter's Tale (July 21 - August 7), and Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband (August 11 - September 4).

OTHELLO (Directed by Matt Hermes) - When the formidable and revered war general Othello falls in love with the beautiful Desdemona he marries her, and welcomes the pleasures of a domestic life. Unknown to him, his trusted officer and friend, Iago, outraged for being passed over by Othello for a promotion, engineers an insidious campaign of lies and deceit to convince Othello that his new bride has been unfaithful to him. Othello becomes consumed with suspicions of Desdemona's infidelity. Now he must wage war not only with an unseen enemy, but also his own tragic jealousy.

THE COUNTESS OF MONTE CRISTO (Adapted by Philip J. Hickman & Jennifer Feather Youngblood, Directed by Adam Simon & Jennifer Feather Youngblood) - Based on the classic swashbuckling tale of vengeance and redemption, The Countess of Monte Cristo tells the story of a young woman betrayed in the name of greed and spite by people she trusted who transforms herself into an agent of self-styled justice and returns to the glitter and intrigue of upper-class Paris twenty years later to carry out her revenge.

THE WINTER'S TALE (Directed by Micah Logsdon) - Appalachia and the Bard collide in a night of live music and theatre. Sometimes dark tragedy, sometimes uproarious comedy, The Winter's Tale sets the story of one of Shakespeare's more disparate and modern works, at the turn of the 19th & 20th century, between the coal mining country of Eastern Kentucky and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Inspired in part by the album Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson at Folk City and heavily flavored with traditional mountain and American folk music performed by the cast, the play will celebrate the culture and the music of Appalachia, a region with strong cultural, musical and linguistic ties to Shakespeare's England, with a tragedy and joy that is uniquely and entertainingly American.

AN IDEAL HUSBAND (Directed by Philip J. Hickman) - A distinguished politician's youthful indiscretions come to light in An Ideal Husband, Oscar Wilde's sophisticated satire. Sir Robert Chiltern's political career and marriage are put to the test as the true nature of his virtue is revealed. His problem is compounded by his wife's intolerance of the slightest character flaw. Wilde's classic comedy features two of his best characters, the deliciously sly Mrs. Chevely and the wonderfully witty Lord Goring.

Outdoor summer shows are free and open to the public, though donations are encouraged and vital to the continued success of Actors' Theatre. Inaugural memberships with Actors' Theatre have been created for the 35th anniversary season and are available by visiting www.theactorstheatre.org/membership.

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