Josh Aaron McCabe News

Founding Company Member and Master Choreographer Susan Dibble brings her newest production Dibbledance: Shoes On, Shoes Off to the Tina Packer Playhouse for a special ONE NIGHT ONLY performance Sunday, August 31st at 7:30pm.

The idea behind this show - which is pretty much a guaranteed hit wherever it has been produced - is to condense many of Shakespeare's masterworks into a two hour orgy of down to earth humor and outright fun. Opening with ROMEO AND JULIET and closing with HAMLET the trio led us on a merry chase through the classics, poking fun as they go.

Casting for Shakespeare & Company's upcoming Summer Performance Season was finalized last week which includes a roster of audience favorites, critics' top picks and a bevy of newcomers joining the Company's ranks in this celebratory season in honor of the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth. See play titles, casting, Press Openings and full schedules for each production listed below.

WAM Theatre has announced the cast for a staged reading of Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale. Blue Stockings premiered to critical acclaim at London's Globe Theatre last year and will be presented by WAM Theatre on Sunday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. at No. Six Depot Roastery and Cafe, 6 Depot Street in West Stockbridge, MA. The reading will be followed by a talkback with the actors and director. Blue Stockings is the first in WAM Theatre's new Fresh Takes Play Reading series, which offers new and reimagined works that tell women's stories.

WAM Theatre is pleased to announce the cast for a staged reading of Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale. Blue Stockings premiered to critical acclaim at London's Globe Theatre last year and will be presented by WAM Theatre on Sunday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. at No. Six Depot Roastery and Cafe, 6 Depot Street in West Stockbridge, MA. The reading will be followed by a talkback with the actors and director. Blue Stockings is the first in WAM Theatre's new Fresh Takes Play Reading series, which offers new and reimagined works that tell women's stories.

In MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN, Olympia Dukakis delivers a searing performance in its title role. Dukakis is more than just a masterful actor, she delivers a Mother Courage who is strong, sassy and simply astonishing in her complexity. The entire ensemble of sixteen actors raises the reputation of Shakespeare & Company - already renowned for its lush, intelligible renditions of the Bard's greatest works - to new heights.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century, MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN is set against the backdrop of the Thirty Years War of the seventeenth century. The play follows the fate of Mother Courage, an artful canteen woman with the Swedish Army, intent on keeping her business and family alive amidst the destruction of war. Written by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Artistic Director Tony Simotes and starring Academy Award-winner Olympia Dukakis, this play still resonates today providing a profound insight into the moral implications of war. MOTHER COURAGE AND HER WOMEN runs tonight, July 26 - August 25, in S&Co.'s Tina Packer Playhouse.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century, MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN is set against the backdrop of the Thirty Years War of the seventeenth century. The play follows the fate of Mother Courage, an artful canteen woman with the Swedish Army, intent on keeping her business and family alive amidst the destruction of war. Written by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Artistic Director Tony Simotes and starring Academy Award-winner Olympia Dukakis, this play still resonates today providing a profound insight into the moral implications of war. MOTHER COURAGE AND HER WOMEN runs July 26 - August 25, in S&Co.'s Tina Packer Playhouse.

Due to the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to last year's combination of special presentations and performances, Shakespeare & Company has announced the return of FOUR favorite happenings. This series of events is perfectly tailored to its summer performance season. Engaging discussions, riveting talks, and insightful Q&A's will all be featured in the Company's already packed calendar. For more information on all of Shakespeare & Company's special 35th Season offerings, including Author! Author!, Studio Series, Tuesday Talks, Wednesday Q&As, Behind the Scenes Tours, and other special events, visit www.Shakespeare.org.

Due to the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to last year's combination of special presentations and performances, Shakespeare & Company has announced the return of FOUR favorite happenings. This series of events is perfectly tailored to its summer performance season. Engaging discussions, riveting talks, and insightful Q&A's will all be featured in the Company's already packed calendar. For more information on all of Shakespeare & Company's special 35th Season offerings, including Author! Author!, Studio Series, Tuesday Talks, Wednesday Q&As, Behind the Scenes Tours, and other special events, visit www.Shakespeare.org.

Shakespeare & Company's groundbreaking Shakespeare in the Courts program, which leads adjudicated young people in an exploration of Shakespeare's plays, is celebrating its 13th year. The program, which runs in both North Adams and Pittsfield, was launched in 2001 with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and is generously supported this year by Massachusetts Cultural Council's YouthReach Initiative; Berkshire Life, A Guardian Company; Berkshire County District Attorney's Office; The Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire; and the Charles H. Hall Foundation. Led by S&Co.'s expertly trained arts educators, Shakespeare in the Courts program is a challenging, inspiring, and often revelatory program. For media interviews and information contact Communications Director Elizabeth Aspenlieder aspenlieder@shakespeare.org OR Associate Director of Communications and Marketing Director Jason Velazquez jvelazquez@shakespeare.org.

Shakespeare & Company, Artistic Director Tony Simotes and the Peck School of the Arts are pleased to announce that Dennis Krausnick, Shakespeare & Company Director of Training and star of this summer's acclaimed main stage production of The Tragedy of King Lear, will reprise the role of the aging monarch in a production at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). This production of The Tragedy of King Lear will also be directed by Rebecca Holderness, a professor at the Peck School, and is part of the university's 'Year of the Arts' celebration, which recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Peck School of the Arts.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) presents the world premiere of A THOUSAND WORDS by Wisconsin-based playwright Gwendolyn Rice, through March 11, 2012 in collaboration with Forward Theater Company of Madison. A THOUSAND WORDS performs in the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) presents the world premiere of A THOUSAND WORDS by Wisconsin-based playwright Gwendolyn Rice, February 16 - March 11, 2012 in collaboration with Forward Theater Company of Madison. A THOUSAND WORDS performs in the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.

Shakespeare & Company's new Artistic Director Tony Simotes today announced news of a hugely successful and near record-breaking box office for its 2010/11 season, along with a sneak preview of his exhilarating and ambitious line-up for the Company's 34th Performance Season (his second as A.D.). Productions for the upcoming season include 3 Shakespeare shows, Tina Packer's new series Women of Will: The Complete Journey (Parts I-V), the return of the side-splittingly funny The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Santaland Diaries, and a handful of other equally exciting titles, which have been carefully chosen to round out the season. This season will feature several veteran S&Co. actors and directors, including Jason Asprey, Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Kevin G. Coleman, Jonathan Croy, Jonathan Epstein, Nigel Gore, Malcolm Ingram, Dennis Krausnick, Corinna May, Annette Miller, Tony Simotes, Daniela Varon and Kristin Wold, who will join the Company's roster of talented artists celebrating its 34th Season.The 197-seat Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, part of the Bernstein Center for the Performing Arts, will open the Company's summer season with a high octane line-up of shows featuring Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer and her irreverent Women of Will: The Complete Journey (Parts I-V). Eric Tucker returns to direct Packer and acting partner Nigel Gore in W.O.W, which previewed to sold-out houses during its world premier and limited run in 2010. Up next is British playwright Shelagh Stephenson's heartwarming and poignant comedy The Memory of Water, directed by Kevin G. Coleman (A Winter's Tale 2010, The Ladies Man 2008, Rough Crossing 2006, Director of Education and Company actor) and featuring audience favorites Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Corinna May, Annette Miller and Kristin Wold (others TBA). The popular Lunch Box Shakespeare series presents one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies with Thedirected by Dennis Krausnick (Director of Training, Company actor and playwright) and Two Gentlemen of Verona featuring the energetic Performance Intern Company.

Lenox, Massachusetts's Shakespeare & Company has announced the scheduling for its 2010 Studio Festival of Plays. The Festival will run from September 6 to September 7 and will feature staged readings of new plays.

Lenox, Massachusetts's Shakespeare & Company has announced the scheduling for its 2010 Studio Festival of Plays. The Festival will run from September 6 to September 7 and will feature staged readings of new plays.

The US premiere of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, a Sherlock Holmes adaptation, is now playing through November 8th at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass. The show transferred from London's West End for an American premiere at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Tony Simotes today announced the titles for the popular, 15th annual Studio Festival of Plays. The annual Festival is a mini-marathon of plays new to the Company running ONE DAY ONLY in Founders' Theatre on Monday, September 7 beginning at 11:30 am and running through 11pm. Seven productions featuring Company actors and special guest actors will be presented throughout the day as works-in-progress and staged readings. A special Benefit reading of William Bigelow's new play, Leap Year, featuring Olympia Dukakis and directed by Simotes, will kick off the Festival series a week early on Monday, August 31st at 7:00pm .

Shakespeare & Company will present a staged reading of LEAP YEAR, featuring Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis. The reading takes place Monday, August 31 at 7pm.