Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT to be Presented by The Bardcast Players

In celebration of William Shakespeare's birthday, The Bardcast Players will present a two performance online production of his delightful pastoral comedy, As You Like It as a benefit for the Actors Fund and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The performances are entirely free to the public and will be live streamed on YouTube on Friday April 23rd (Shakespeare's birthday!) at 7:30pm and Saturday, April 24th at 3pm. Links to the performances are available at www.thebardcastyoudick.com and on our pages on the Bardcast's pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Bardcast Players are a close-knit band of professional actors, directors, and educators with extensive experience in film, television, and on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in Regional Theatre across the country. An offshoot of the popular Shakespeare podcast The Bardcast: "It's Shakespeare, You Dick!" (created and co-hosted by Lisa Ann Goldsmith and Owen Thompson), the Bardcast Players had their beginnings in the early days of the pandemic when Goldsmith and Thompson were looking for creative outlets and invited their talented - and suddenly unemployed - friends to join them for biweekly readings that came to be known as Shakespeare Sunday.

Although these readings were initially conceived as private and informal affairs, it swiftly became apparent that the quality of the performances was exceptional. As more and more people were invited to see them, Lisa Ann and Owen were encouraged to take them to the public. And so, after consulting with both Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA, that is precisely what has been done, and a fresh and fanciful version of one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies is the result.

Lisa Ann and Owen are both accomplished actors, directors, and educators. Their podcast has listeners in numerous locations in 45 countries and on six out of seven continents (no luck in Antarctica...yet!) The of As You Like It cast includes Noelia Antweiler, David Beck, Chaunice Chapman, Michael Daly, David H. Hamilton, Alvin Keith, Patrick Lawlor, Brian Linden, Simon Nigam, Benjamin Russell, Emma Szuba, Owen Thompson, Jessica Pierson Turner, and Stewart Walker. Lisa Ann Goldsmith directs.

Please join them for a uniquely entertaining experience, which elevates the typical online arts presentation to something rarely seen in these theatre-deprived coronavirus times.