SPT's Youth Program to Stage Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, Now thru 7/20

Seattle Public Theater's (SPT) Youth Program presents a uniquely tangy take on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Performances run today, July 12-20 at the historic Bathhouse Theater on Green Lake.

Six [free] performances tonight, July 12 @ 7pm, Saturday, July 13 @ 7pm, Sunday July 14 @ 2pm, Friday, July 19 @ 7pm and Saturday, July 20 @ 2pm & 7pm. Donations are encouraged, and go to support SPT's Youth Scholarship Fund.

SPT's Summer Youth Program washes Shakespeare's topsy-turvy tale of romantic dissonance and comedic discord onto new shores when they set Twelfth Nightagainst the backdrop of a post-Katrina Louisiana. We invite audiences to discover the treatments and textures of an Illyria not so far removed from the sights and sounds of The Big Easy.

"This setting gives us the opportunity to explore a landscape of love, loss, and renewal," says SPT Youth Education and Artistic Director Shana Bestock. "The metaphors found in the elemental imagery, madness, and personal reinvention following a devastating loss are rich, and ones that teenagers are especially equipped to tackle with grace, insight, and dynamism. Any play that opens with, 'If music be the food of love, play on!' calls out for a compelling musical landscape. Not to mention a brilliant excuse to introduce a new generation to cajun, zydeco, blues, jazz, and the whole potpourri of Louisiana culture!"

Directed by Shana Bestock and stage managed by Skylar Tibbetts, Twelfth Night features the acting talents of Annika Prichard, Chloe Swedberg, Ingamar Christophersen, Isabelle Moore, Jasmin Barrett, Julia Schoemig, Karinna Gerhardt, Leo Campbell-Klein, Lucy Barcott, Nora Hammen, Olivia Sterne, Sarah Murphy, Sarah Wood, Sofia James, and Sophie Von Veh. The production features designs by Kayla Brooks (Costumes) and Anna Marie Yanny (Props), with crew members Santiago Regan, Julia Marshall, and Karina Zikan with Laura Rude as assistant stage manager.

Seattle Public Theater (SPT) is a mid-size, 501 (c) (3) non-profit professional theater on the shores of Green Lake. Specializing in main stage theater and youth theater education, SPT is dedicated to inspiring community through intimate, powerful professional theater and dynamic education programs.