Tennessee Shakespeare Co. 2020-21 Season Brochure

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2020-21

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DAN McCLEARY, FOUNDER AND PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR E. FRANK BLUESTEIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ERNEST G. KELLY, JR., BOARD PRESIDENT

THE 13TH PERFORMANCE SEASON: ESSENTIAL As the world has shut down and our health has been endangered, we have learned how essential classical theatre and education is to our community.

We thought they were important. But in fact, they are necessary. What William Shakespeare, great artists and philosophers, daring social protesters, and quarantined inventors have endured before us serve as lessons. We need each other and our creativity and our compassion to live together. This season, we celebrate you and the essential power of classical creations.

- Dan McCleary, Founder, Nancy R. Copp Producing Artistic Director In strict accordance with all State and Local Health Department guidelines and mandates, TSC will enforce all health safety criteria, including socialdistancing, family groupings of no more than six, reduced seating capacities of 33-50%, required distance from audience to performers, multiple entry/ egress ways, hand-sanitizer stations, and mandatory face-coverings (while required; TSC will offer free, disposable masks).

For all paid performances, TSC offers you the option of a paid digital experience. Each paid performance will be filmed with one camera and simulcast via TSC’s website for a paid ticket.

SECTION 3

STAGE

(flexible, socially-distanced seating for 54)

SECTION 2

UPDATED SEATING LAYOUT and Ticketing Tiers on the Owen and Margaret Wellford Tabor Stage See back cover for details

SECTION 1

OWEN AND MARGARET WELLFORD TABOR STAGE We thank our generous Corporate Sponsors and Philanthropic Partners:

romeo and juliet

FREE SHOUT-OUT SHAKESPEARE SERIES

by W I LLI AM SHAKE S P E ARE di rec t ed ou t d oo r s by S T E P HAN IE S HIN E generous ly sp on so red by Evans |P et re e, P. C. a n d C a m p b e ll C lin i c OCT 13-24

Performance Schedule: Beale Street Landing TUES, OCT 13 at 7 pm Collierville Town Square WED, OCT 14 at 7 pm Overton Square’s Chimes Square Amphitheatre THURS, OCT 15 at 7 pm

Experience outdoors the greatest love story ever told, challenged

by Shakespeare’s quarantine. His theatres were shut almost as often as they were open, prompting him to write a crucial obstacle into the romance of his star-cross’d lovers.

How can we love and forgive when we are not permitted to get within six feet of each other, when hatred and discrimination are culturally fueled, when the deaths accumulate?

Shakespeare finds a way.

Singleton Community Center in Bartlett WED, OCT 21 at 7 pm Overton Square’s Chimes Square Amphitheatre THURS, OCT 22 at 7 pm

Cordova YMCA FRI, OCT 16 at 7 pm

International Harvester’s Managerial Park in Lakeland FRI, OCT 23 at 7 pm

Germantown Library SAT, OCT 17 at 10 am

Wiseacre Brewery SAT, OCT 24 at 2 pm

The Dr. Greta McCormick Coger

Literary Salon Series Inspired by our annual Southern Literary Salons, by our recent digital Decameron Project during the virus shut-down, and our generous long-time friend and scholar Dr. Greta Coger, we offer you a full slate of one-hour (or less) curated readings, scenes, speeches, and discussions that explore important authors and subjects close to home. Presented by TSC’s resident artists on our Owen and Margaret Wellford Tabor Stage, Greta’s Salon Series will engage you in an informal, comfortable, safe atmosphere on either our Tabor Stage or via our digital, paid simulcast.

“Take Upon’s the Mystery of Things”: Classical Creations in Quarantine c urat ed by D AN McC L E A RY SUN, AUG 30 at 3 pm

NO IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE • DIGITAL OPTION ONLY What can we learn now from restricted and quarantined classical artists such as Cervantes, Galileo, Thoreau, Beethoven, Dr. King, Frida Khalo, Boccaccio, Vaclav Havel, Frederick Douglass, Allen Ginsberg, and Shakespeare? Featuring Michael Khanlarian, Carmen-maria Mandley, Dan McCleary, Stephanie Shine, and Darius Wallace.

Creative Extremists: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X c urat ed and rea d by DAR IU S WA LL A C E FRI, SEPT 11 at 8 pm Conflict births the potential for new opportunities through self-determination, creative expression, and self-preservation. Douglass, Dr. King, and Malcolm X were inspired by the power of the written and spoken word, including those of Gandhi, the Bible, Aesop’s fables, Shakespeare, and Lord Byron.

In a Purple Mood: Alice Walker curated by CARMEN-MARIA MANDLEY SUN, SEPT 27 at 3 pm As a Georgia native, Alice Walker showcased her rare scholarship and poetic prowess as a student. Her short stories, novels, and poems deftly examine the struggles of Black people, particularly women. The Salon features her poetry (Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart), interviews, and excerpts from The Color Purple.

Like to a Lonely Dragon: Shakespeare’s Election of Coriolanus curated by DAN McCLEARY FRI, OCT 9 at 8 pm Shakespeare’s superior political play was created while London’s playhouses were closed, while starving workers protested, and after his mother died. A thinlyveiled form of Democracy and a shocking election at the play’s center launch a story short on poetry but long on freedom – of the heart, of the people, and of their leadership.

Halloween’s Tell-Tale Heart: Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and Flannery O’Connor c urat ed by ST E P HAN IE S HIN E a nd D R . D I A N E D O M B R O WS K I F R I, OCT 30 a t 8 p m Enter, if you will, the Southern Gothic horror of Flannery O’Connor with special northern guests Ambrose Bierce and Edgar Allan Poe. Expect thrills and surprises as these writers take unexpected twists and turns with terrors both real and imagined.

From Dublin to the Sea: John M. Synge c u ra t e d by S T EP H A N I E S H I N E in h on o r o f PAT a n d ER N E S T K EL LY SU N, N OV 8 a t 3 pm Writing plays that inspired riots from Dublin to New York, J.M. Synge’s short career left an indelible mark on Ireland and modern playwriting. His Riders to the Sea is lauded as the perfect one-act play, and his Playboy of the Western World is a searing comic look at the complexities of human experience.

A Little, Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving: Louisa May Alcott c urat ed by ST E P HAN IE S HIN E S U N, NOV 22 at 3 p m Spiced with discoveries of gratitude in everyday life and relationships that she made throughout her years, Louisa’s Thanksgiving (Little Men and An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving) is worth remembering for all of us this season.

A Christmas Carol: Charles Dickens’ Dramatic Premier Reading in Boston c u ra t e d a nd re a d by D A N M cC LEA RY FRI, DEC 4 at 8 pm; SUN, DEC 6 at 3 pm; SAT, DEC 12 at 8 pm; SUN, DEC 13 at 3 pm; SAT, DEC 19 at 8 pm; SUN, DEC 20 at 3 pm Meet the star who brought Christmas to America in 1867. Mr. Dickens was wildly popular for performing his ghostly tale with his distinct portrayals that almost single-handedly birthed the celebration in New England (where children still attended school on December 25 prior to his arrival). His premier reading in Boston was to the Saturday Club, including members Emerson, Longfellow, and Oliver Holmes; and now you. Performed as edited by Mr. Dickens.

The Hunting Heart: Carson McCullers c urat ed by ST E P HAN IE S HIN E S U N, JAN 24, 2 0 2 1 a t 3 p m “The heart is a lonely hunter with only one desire!

To find some lasting comfort in the arms of another’s fire...driven by a desperate hunger to the arms of a neon light, the heart is a lonely hunter when there’s no sign of love in sight!” In writing to quench the loneliness of her own heart, Carson gives us insight into how we all may find our own heart’s company.

ON THE TABOR STAGE IN 2021

Twelfth Night c ome dy by WIL L IAM SHAKE S P E A R E d ire cted by STE P HAN IE S HIN E F EB RU ARY 25 – MAR CH 7 Previ ew: F E B 2 5 at 7 : 3 0 p m O p eni ng: F E B 2 6 at 7 : 3 0 p m Ev eni ngs: F E B 2 7 ; MA R 4 - 6 a t 7 : 3 0 pm M a ti nees: F E B 2 8 ; MA R 7 a t 3 pm Influenced by the end of Christmas celebrations, Shakespeare’s fantastical tale of unrequited love embraces a comedy and musicality that remain popular for all ages. Twins are separated in a shipwreck and wash ashore in strange Illyria. One twin, Viola, falls in love with Orsino, who swoons for Olivia, who moons over Viola, but is adored by Malvolio. Enter Sebastian, the spitting image of Viola, who…

The Elizabethan Feast: Gala Benefit a f u n , breez y p a r t y t o b en efi t o ur ED U C AT I O N P R O G R A M s p onsored by T S C ’ S B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S S AT, APR I L 24 a t 6 p m We have a big Elizabethan surprise in store for you! Save the date now.

Contact Stephanie Shine to purchase your 8-guest Platinum, Gold, or Silver Sponsorship: (901) 759-0620, stephanieshine@tnshakespeare.org. Single tickets are also available.

TICKETING Purchase Online: www.tnshakespeare.org Phone: (901) 759-0604 Box Office: Mon-Fri from 9 am - 5 pm, and one hour prior to curtain TSC is located at 7950 Trinity Road, Memphis, TN 38018-6297 Note: Your tickets must be purchased in advance of your event.

Socially distanced reserved seating and online pricing The Owen and Margaret Wellford Tabor Stage (seating capacity: 54) All paid performances are on the Tabor Stage and will offer both in-person and digital online experiences for you (except Classical Creations, which is digital-only). Online performances will show only once, simulcast with the live performance.

For in-person attendance at TSC: you select your seating section (below), and TSC will then select your socially-distanced seats based on your party’s size and order in which your ticket purchase is received.

THE GRETA McCORMICK COGER LITERARY SALON SERIES ADULT STUDENT SENIOR Reading (+/- 22 w/I.D.) (62+) $ $ $ Seating Section 1 (Main) 25.00 18.00 22.00 $ $ Seating Sections 2 and 3 (Sides) $18.00 15.00 18.00 $ $ $ Digital/Online simulcast 15.00 15.00 15.00

TWELFTH NIGHT*

ADULT STUDENT SENIOR Preview performances (+/-22 w/I.D) (62+) $ $ $ Seating Section 1 (Main) 19.00 19.00 19.00 $ $ Seating Sections 2 and 3 (Sides) $19.00 19.00 19.00 $ $ $ Digital/Online simulcast 19.00 19.00 19.00 All other performances $ $ $ Seating Section 1 (Main) 39.00 19.00 34.00 $ $ Seating Sections 2 and 3 (Sides) $29.00 19.00 24.00 $ $ $ Digital/Online simulcast 19.00 19.00 19.00

THE ELIZABETHAN FEAST

ADULT STUDENT SENIOR

Gala benefiting TSC’s innovative Education Program All Early Bird single tickets, $ $ to be reserved by TSC 125.00 125.00

$

125.00

For 8-ticket Platinum/Gold/Silver Sponsorship packages, please contact Stephanie Shine at (901) 759-0620. *Thursday night performances of Twelfth Night are FREE WILL KIDS’ NIGHTS: up to 2 children 17 years and younger may attend for free when accompanied by at least one, full-price-paying Adult guardian; while seats last.

No refunds/exchanges. Tickets must be purchased in advance of your event (not at the door), printed, and brought with you to the theatre. House opens 30 minutes prior to curtain. Credit card charges require a $1 per-ticket fee.

Casts and schedules subject to change with notice. Free parking.