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SAN DIEGO (February 21, 2019)—The Old Globe regards William Shakespeare as our premiere resident playwright, whose universal themes continue to resonate more than 400 years after his plays were written. For many San Diegans, their ability to understand and appreciate the wonders of the Bard during our Summer Shakespeare Festival has increased exponentially since they joined us for Thinking Shakespeare Live! Part of The Old Globe’s ongoing commitment to serve the public good by hosting programs that make theatre matter to more people, Thinking Shakespeare Live! is consistently one of our most popular offerings, a 90-minute exploration of the language of Shakespeare led by the Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and assisted by three professional classical actors.
Thinking Shakespeare Live! will take place on Saturday, April 6 and Saturday, June 8, both at 11:00 a.m., on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Tickets go on sale to subscribers and donors this Friday, February 22 and to the general public on Friday, March 8, both at 12:00 noon. Tickets are $10.00 – $25.00 and can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
This special program, based on Edelstein’s book Thinking Shakespeare: A How-To Guide for Student Actors, Directors, and Anyone Else Who Wants to Feel More Comfortable with the Bard, reveals a performer’s approach to Shakespearean language so audiences may easily understand the poetry of the Bard. An ideal introduction to Shakespeare for families and young audiences as well as an exciting new look at the playwright for Bardophiles, Edelstein has performed this across the country, including at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. The book was re-released last summer in a revised edition by Theatre Communications Group. There will be volumes available for purchase, and Mr. Edelstein will sign copies following the event.
In preparation for The Old Globe’s 2019 Shakespeare Festival (which will include the romantic comedy As You Like It, directed by Jessica Stone, and the love-filled tragedy Romeo and Juliet, directed by Edelstein)—or just to get more enjoyment from his work—Thinking Shakespeare Live! is a fast-paced, funny, and altogether fascinating guide to the language of the Bard. In this lively 90-minute program, Edelstein, called by NPR “one of the country’s leading Shakespeareans,” provides audiences a unique opportunity to learn the methods he imparts to professional actors in the rehearsal room. As Edelstein and three skilled actors demonstrate these techniques live on stage, this entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the creative process offers a primer on the tools used to hear and understand Shakespeare. With humor and insight, it brings audiences into the intoxicating world of the Bard and shows how his masterful poetry can come to life for everyone.
“One of our country’s great Shakespeare theatres, the Globe celebrates the Bard on our Balboa Park stages and also, with our Globe for All Tours and arts engagement programs, in the community,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “We love to help our audiences learn more about this brilliant writer. This live program based on my book Thinking Shakespeare has proven enormously popular with a range of theatregoers, from those who love Shakespeare and have seen his plays many times, to those who are at the beginning of their relationship with him. Thinking Shakespeare Live! opens the door to the rehearsal room and shows how those of us lucky enough to work on Shakespeare for a living go about this work. This fast-paced program is fun for me to do, and I relish the opportunity to share my passion for Shakespeare with all of San Diego.”
The three professional actors who will take part in the presentation will be announced shortly.
Barry Edelstein is a stage director, producer, author, and educator. He has directed nearly half of the Bard’s plays. His Globe directing credits include The Winter’s Tale, Othello, The Twenty-seventh Man, the world premiere of Rain, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Hamlet, and the world premiere of The Wanderers. He also directed All’s Well That Ends Well as the inaugural production of the Globe for All community tour. In January he oversaw the Globe’s inaugural Classical Directing Fellowship program, and he will direct the world premiere of Britta Johnson’s Life After in March and Romeo and Juliet this summer. He recently directed The Tempest with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall. As Director of the Shakespeare Initiative at The Public Theater (2008–2012), Mr. Edelstein oversaw all of the company’s Shakespearean productions as well as its educational, community outreach, and artist-training programs. At The Public, he staged the world premiere of The Twenty-seventh Man, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, Timon of Athens, and Steve Martin’s WASP and Other Plays. He was also Associate Producer of The Public’s Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino. From 1998 to 2003 he was Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company. His book Thinking Shakespeare, which was rereleased in a second edition in June, is the standard text on American Shakespearean acting. He is also the author of Bardisms: Shakespeare for All Occasions. He is a graduate of Tufts University and the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
The Old Globe’s 2019 Summer Shakespeare Festival is the best place in town to enjoy the finest of the Bard’s work: outdoors under the stars in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. As You Like It, the Bard’s fabulously charming romantic comedy, whose heroine is one of his most remarkable creations, will play June 16 – July 21, directed by Globe favorite Stone, making her Shakespearean directing debut. Following his smash-hit Othello and record-breaking Hamlet, Edelstein returns to the Festival stage to take on the greatest love story of all time, Romeo and Juliet, which plays August 11 – September 15.
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.”
The magical forest of Arden is As You Like It’s famous setting, where a gallery of eccentric characters comes together to find love, fortune, redemption...and themselves. Banished from the court by her deceitful and treacherous uncle, Rosalind disguises herself as a boy, not knowing that the man she loves, also on the run, is behind the next tree. Bucolic Balboa Park is the ideal spot for Shakespeare’s enticing tale of mistaken identity, heartfelt romance, and the endearing fumbles and foibles of love. Stone’s recent body of work, including Barefoot in the Park, Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood!, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, has had Globe audiences rolling in the aisles.
“Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.”
Verona’s Montague and Capulet families have been feuding for ages, and whenever they meet, violence breaks out. But when Romeo glimpses Juliet across a crowded dance floor, something different happens. Can star-crossed love survive in a world of rivalry and rage? With a plot featuring a masqued ball, sleeping potions, and all-out brawling in the street, wrapped in a text full of soaring poetry, it’s no wonder Romeo and Juliet has inspired countless adaptations, from ballets to movies to musicals like West Side Story. Young love has never been as dangerous or delightful as it is in Shakespeare’s romantic masterpiece, brought to vivid life by Edelstein.
Indoors, the 2019 Summer Season overflows with music, adventure, and laughter, starting with the award-winning PigPen Theatre Co., which delighted Globe audiences in 2017 with The Old Man and The Old Moon. This talented ensemble returns July 6 – August 11 with a world premiere musical The Tale of Despereaux. Based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo and the Universal Pictures animated film, with book, music, and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co., this inspiring family-friendly adventure will be directed by Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and PigPen Theatre Co. Rounding out the summer is a sparkling comedy by the Globe’s second-most popular playwright-in-residence—Steve Martin. The Underpants will be directed by Walter Bobbie (Bright Star at the Globe and on Broadway, Chicago). Adapted from Die Hose by Carl Sternheim, the play was originally commissioned by Edelstein when he ran New York’s Classic Stage Company, and it will play July 27 – August 25.
LOCATION and PARKING INFORMATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego’s Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. There is a 10-minute zone at The Old Globe, used only for daytime deliveries, ticket purchases, and handicapped access dropoff. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/directions--parking/detailed-directions.
PLEASE NOTE: To look up online or GPS directions to The Old Globe, please do not use the Delivery Address above. For GPS users, please click here for the map coordinates, and here for written directions to The Old Globe and nearby parking in Balboa Park.
CALENDAR: Familiar (1/26–3/3/2019), Tiny Beautiful Things (2/9–3/17), Globe Guilders’ Celebrating Couture Fashion Show (3/22), Life After (3/22–4/28), They Promised Her the Moon (4/6–5/5), AXIS: Happy Birthday, Mr. Shakespeare! (4/20), AXIS: Manila Disco Fever in Concert (5/9), Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy (5/11–6/16), What You Are (5/30–6/30), AXIS: San Diego’s Gods of Comedy (6/15), As You Like It (6/16–7/21), AXIS: Make Music San Diego (6/21), The Tale of Despereaux (7/6–8/11), Steve Martin’s The Underpants (7/27–8/25), Romeo and Juliet (8/11–9/15), AXIS: Mexican Independence Day Celebration (9/14), 2019 Globe Gala (9/21), AXIS: Day of the Dead (11/3).
PHOTO EDITORS: Digital images of The Old Globe’s productions are available at www.theoldglobe.org/press-room.
The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego’s flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Meteor Shower, Bright Star, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.
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The publication of Thinking Shakespeare by Barry Edelstein, through Theatre Communications Group’s Book Program, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.First TCG Revised Edition is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc. 520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4136, June 2018. Available in paperback or ebook, 480pp, $17.95.
How to get the book: visit the TCG Store at www.tcg.org/store/productdetail/7136095.
