OUR TOWN, et al. Set to Play Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in 2011-2012

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Maryland's leading professional classic theatre company, announces its 2011-2012 season with productions of Our Town, The Merchant of Venice, Pride and Prejudice, and Romeo and Juliet.

Lesley Malin, Managing Director, stated that Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's recently completed summer season broke all its attendance and revenue records. With almost 6,000 patrons seeing A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), CSC increased its summer audience by 30% over its record 2010 audience (and an increase of 70% over summer 2009). Almost 1,200 children attended the summer productions at no cost, thanks to a special program. In addition, the company's 2010-2011 season increased its audience attendance overall by 28%. "Clearly, our audiences are continuing to find reasons to come back to Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's productions each season and are bringing their friends," Malin commented. "We could not be more pleased that patrons are using our shows as a way to interact with their communities and to experience the fun and the power of classic theatre."

Starting in October 2011, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company will mount an unforgettable season of timeless work. Exploring the universal themes of love, death, prejudice, and fate, the line-up will deliver great works from a range of classic writers, including Thornton Wilder and Jane Austen in addition to Shakespeare. Utilizing the natural splendor of the PFI Historic Park in Ellicott City and the rustic charm of Columbia's beloved Oliver's Carriage House, this innovative and increasingly popular classic theatre company will move audiences into another time and place in this upcoming season.

CSC's 2011-2012 season includes:

Our Town by Thornton Wilder
A Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Movable Production-An American Classic
October 7-30, 2011 at Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park, Ellicott City
Ian Gallanar, Founding Artistic Director, Director
Thornton Wilder's masterpiece of American theatre staged in CSC's movable style outdoors in the evocative PFI Historic Park. Follow the action of the play throughout the Ruins as Emily and George find love, tragedy, and beauty in small town America.

Educational Tour: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
November 1-18, 2011, various venues throughout Maryland
Ian Gallanar, Director
Chesapeake Shakespeare will tour a 90-minute version of its tremendously successful A Midsummer Night's Dream production to schools in the area. The educational tour will serve not only Howard County; but Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Harford, Carroll, and Baltimore Counties. This condensed production presents William Shakespeare's magical comedy to high school and middle school students in the format it was written for: live production.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
February 10-March 11, 2012 at Oliver's Carriage House, Columbia MD
Teresa Castracane, Director
Shakespeare's immortal tale of justice, vengeance, and love. Join CSC at the genuinely intimate Oliver's Carriage House as the story of Shylock and a pound of flesh and Portia and her portion of mercy unfolds with Shakespeare's stunning language and complex characters.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in the Ruins
June 8 - July 29, 2012 (in repertory) at Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park, Ellicott City
Outdoors with pre-show entertainment and picnicking

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Jenny Leopold, Director
Shakespeare's ever-popular tragedy of "star-crossed lovers" and feuding families is given a new twist as presented through the lens of SLAM poetry. By drawing attention to the powerful poetry of the play, the "ancient strife" between Montagues and the Capulets becomes as much about verbal battles as physical ones.

Pride and Prejudice, adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel
Erin Bone Steele, Director
The timeless novel comes to the stage with all its witty dialogue, unforgettable characters, and sparkling romance intact as Miss Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with the haughty Mr. Darcy.

For more information about Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, the upcoming season and educational tours, visit www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com. Or call 410-313-8874.

Mission: The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company creates performances and education programs out of great classic theatre. Classic plays can be awfully good, but only if they speak to their audience and the community in a way that is dynamic, personal, and pleasurable. We do plays that people like, and we perform them in innovative and intimate ways that intensify the connection between audiences and artists. We do this because we want to know what makes Shakespeare so great-and we ask our audience and our community to explore that question alongside us.