AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER PERFORMANCE
OFMUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING TO BE STAGED

NYS Writers Institute, October 15, 2014
7:30 p.m. Performance | Main Theatre, Performing Arts Center, Uptown Campus

EVENT DETAILS:
American Shakespeare Center’s production of Much Ado About Nothing will be presented in classic Shakespearian style with actors playing multiple roles and surrounded by the audience on three sides, at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 in the Main Theatre of the Performing Arts Center on the University at Albany’s uptown campus. Live pre-performance music begins at 7:00 p.m. The event is presented by UAlbany’s Performing Arts Center in conjunction with the New York State Writers Institute. Advance tickets are $15 general public; $10 students, seniors & faculty/staff. Day of show tickets are $20 general public; and $15 students, seniors & faculty/staff. Box Office: (518) 442-3997; [email protected].

PROFILE
While the villainous Don John devises a scheme to shatter the nuptials of Claudio and Hero, the young lovers conspire to trick Beatrice and Benedick into admitting their much-denied love. In this powerful comedy full of sparkling wit, the Bard gives us the joy of love won and the ache of love lost. He makes us laugh and breaks our hearts, then magically puts them back together again. American Shakespeare Center’s production is presented in classic Shakespearian style with actors playing multiple roles and surrounded by audience on three sides.

The Washington Post has called the American Shakespeare Center and its productions, “shamelessly entertaining,” and the Boston Globe calls it, “phenomenal— tightly staged, expertly performed and bursting with energy.”

Live music is a distinctive component of the American Shakespeare Center’s productions. Pre-performance music starts at 7:00 p.m. There is also a 15 minute performance during intermission. Though inspired by Shakespeare’s use of a musical “soundtrack” for his plays, the Center sets Shakespeare’s lyrics to contemporary styles of music in order to connect with modern audiences.
The guest director of Much Ado is SUNY Cortland graduate Benjamin Curns who has appeared as an actor in more than 90 roles and 60 productions of the American Shakespeare Center. The cast includes Stephanie Holladay Earl as Beatrice, Patrick Earl as Benedick, Susie Parr as Hero, Tim Sailer as Claudio, and Patrick Poole as Don John.

Based in Staunton, Virginia, the American Shakespeare Center’s mission is to recover the joys and accessibility of Shakespeare’s theatre, language, and humanity by exploring the English Renaissance stage and its practices through performance and education. The Center’s non-touring productions are presented at the Blackfriars Playhouse, the world’s only replica of Shakespeare’s own indoor, winter theatre (a former Dominican priory that Shakespeare used instead of the more famous Globe Theatre for more intimate productions during the seven coldest months of the year). A quarter of a million people – 50,000 of them students – have enjoyed Shakespeare in his “natural habitat” since the Blackfriars Playhouse opened in Virginia in 2001.

The play is presented by the Performing Arts Center in conjunction with the New York State Writers Institute. Support is also provided by the University Auxiliary Services and Holiday Inn Express.

Advance tickets are $15 general public; and $10 students, seniors & faculty/staff. Day of show tickets are $20 general public; and $15 students, seniors & faculty/staff.  Contact the box office at (518) 442-3997 or [email protected] .