Jim Helsinger News

Mark St. Germain's Gertrude and Claudius, based on the novel by John Updike, commissioned and produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF runs from February 20 - March 23, 2019. Gertrude and Claudius will play in repertory with Shakespeare's Hamlet. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

The Fire and Reign series produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF will take audiences on an epic journey of Shakespeare's own version of "Game of Thrones."  

Mark St. Germain's Gertrude and Claudius, based on the novel by John Updike, commissioned and produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF runs from February 20 - March 23, 2019. Gertrude and Claudius will play in repertory with Shakespeare's Hamlet. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF's production of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by Jim Helsinger runs from November 28 - December 30, 2018. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Coming this November to the Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage, The Hound of the Baskervilles promises audiences a thrilling, hilarious, and nimble retelling of the classic crime novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle starring the iconic Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

Vampire attacks, werewolf sightings, and the resurrection of an Egyptian princess make for an exciting start to married life for Lady Enid, Lord Edgar's second wife. Set in mystical Gothic England, audiences will die laughing at this melodramatic farce - a quick-change marathon in which two actors play all the roles.

Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF's production of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by Jim Helsinger runs from November 28 - December 30, 2018. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

A two-man comedy, Irma Vep - A Penny Dreadful, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, runs from October 10 - November 18, 2018 in the Goldman Theater. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF's production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights runs from September 5 - October 7, 2018. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Orlando Shakes invites the Central Florida community to join them for their 6th Annual Open House today, August 18 at 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Guests may RSVP for this free event now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Orlando Shakes invites the Central Florida community to join them for their 6th Annual Open House on Saturday, August 18 at 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Guests may RSVP for this free event now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

A two-man comedy, Irma Vep - A Penny Dreadful, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, runs from October 10 - November 18, 2018 in the Goldman Theater. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF's production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights runs from September 5 - October 7, 2018. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of professional theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays, announces its 2018-19 grant recipients, including the 2018 Smith Prize for Political Theatre, six Producer Residencies, and five Collaboration Fund awards that will support partnerships between multiple Member Theaters, playwrights, and other theater makers in various projects.

Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF sheds its former name, "Orlando Shakespeare Theater," in favor of "Orlando Shakes" to better represent the theater's mission and diverse body of work. As the theater company has evolved over the last 30 years, the Board of Directors felt that a fresh brand direction was needed to encompass the breadth of the company's productions. The theater's administrative team worked with national firms Arts Consulting Group and Locomotion Creative to complete a year-long process of focus groups and brand research to develop a new look to represent the future of Orlando Shakes.

Award winning actor and playwright David Heron has returned to his classical roots, taking on the role of Lord Montague in the Shakespeare Festival of St Louis production of Romeo and Juliet.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF (Orlando Shakes) has announced that Meridith Friedman's The Luckiest People will be the final Signature Series production in its upcoming 29th Season.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater (Orlando Shakes) in Partnership with UCF announces the upcoming productions for their 30th Anniversary Season. With Broadway's original hip hop musical, two Shakespearean dramas, a hysterical Penny Dreadful parody, the return of a Christmas classic, a Tony Award nominated new drama, the World Premiere of a newly commissioned play, and a fresh twist on three classic fairy tales, the nationally renowned Theater's Season includes a wide range of productions to celebrate classic, contemporary, and children's plays.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF, TheatreUCF, Mad Cow Theatre, and Orlando Repertory Theatre (Theatres) will present two sessions of a workshop with Ms. Laura T. Fisher, a founder of the Chicago Theatre Standards (CTS). Workshops will be held at Loch Haven Park on Friday, March 2, 2018 and at the University of Central Florida campus on Saturday, March 3, 2018.

Jim Helsinger, artistic director of the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (Orlando Shakes) in Partnership with UCF, was awarded the Sidney Berger Fund & Award at the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) Annual Conference on Saturday, January 20, 2019. The Sidney Berger Fund & Award was created through a generous contribution by the family of Sidney Berger. Berger was a founding member of STA and former Artistic Director of Houston Shakespeare Festival. The award is dedicated to provide the basis for an annual cash award to a STA member artistic director in recognition of her or his outstanding talent and dedication to the works of William Shakespeare. Previous winners include Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company's Artistic Director Lisa Wolpe and the American Shakespeare Center's Director of Education Sarah Enloe.