MEASURE FOR MEASURE Kicks Off 2015 Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival This Weekend

This 19th season of one of our region's most popular outdoor theatrical events features the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company's first performance of Measure for Measure and a return of Richard III.

Festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for pre-show picnicking and entertainment.

Measure for Measure - directed by Michael J. Arndt
Friday through Sunday at 8 p.m. (except Independence Day)
June 26-28, July 2, 3, 5 and July 10-12
Measure for Measure, is believed to have been written around 1603, and is still considered a comedy, which can be misleading. It is also considered a particularly "dark" comedy for its bitterness and cynicism. Also called Shakespeare's problem play, it brings up a difficulty and then seeks to solve it. The play deals with issues of mercy, justice, and truth and their relationship to pride and humility. Characters act on their beliefs and never really consider the options. A typical convention for Shakespeare, the play is filled with secret identities and a lot of manipulation.

Richard III - directed by Ryan Lee
Friday through Sunday at 8 p.m.
July 17-19, July 24-26, 31 and Aug. 1-2
Richard III, one of Shakespeare's great historical plays, will make its return to the Festival stage this summer. Written around 1592, Richard III depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard II of England. It is the second longest play in the canon and is often performed with an abridged version.

Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is the professional theatre company of CLU. The nonprofit organization coordinates apprentice programs for professional and aspiring Shakespearean actors, an educational tour program in local schools, and summer theater camps for youth.

General admission is $20 for adults and free for those under 18. Parking is available in the lot at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard. For more information, visit www.kingsmenshakespeare.org or call 805-493-3014.

Order a gourmet picnic basket from Whole Foods and have it waiting for you at the Festival box office. Cost $16.00, a percentage of which is donated to the Festival by Whole Foods. Select the show you are attending and then the basket choice: Measure for Measure | Richard III.

ABOUT THE CAST:

Harold Dixon as The Duke, an actor last seen as Prospero in The Tempest and The Player King in Hamlet in KSF 2013. Harold was the former chair of the Theatre program at the University of Arizona and has been acting at regional theatres since his retirement. Harold is reuniting with his former student Ross Hellwig who was in a production of Measure for Measure that Harold directed.

Brett Elliot as Angelo. Brett is Associate Artistic Director of Kingsmen Shakespeare and last directed Hamlet in 2013. Brett has played many of the major Shakespeare roles with Kingsmen including Hamlet, Petruchio, Henry V, Touchstone, Lysander and others. He has been with the company since the first season.

Rachel Seiferth as Isabella. Rachel is an actor living on both coasts who last played Juliet in the KSF 2012 production of Romeo and Juliet.

Marc Silver as Pompey. Marc is also an Associate Artistic Director for Kingsmen having recently directed his adaptation of Twelfth Night for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Educational Tour (SET). Marc has been in most of the KSF productions since the first year playing Thisbe, Feste, Shylock, and Iago just to name a few.

Ross Hellwig as Lucio. Ross returns this year after last year's performance as Orsino in Twelfth Night. Among other roles have been Benedict, Mercutio, and Antipholus of Syracuse.