Wednesday, May 15, 2002
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Wednesday, May 15, 2002 |
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Offshoot brings Shakespeare to southisde this summer By MICHAEL
BOYLAN Offshoot Productions will present William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" this summer at Sams Auditorium. It is the second Shakespearean show the company has produced. Offshoot presented "Twelfth Night" at the Lafayette Educational Center in early 2001 and fell in love with the beauty of the language and the joy of presenting the show. Both plays are two of Shakespeare's better known comedies and are very popular with audiences, but Shakespeare's shows are a rarity on the southside. Newnan Community Theatre has performed "A Winter's Tale," House Red Theatre Company has performed selected scenes from a number of Shakespeare shows with their show "A Midwinter's Madness" and students all over the county have to read some Shakespearean works and yet most theater companies find that it is a challenge to get audiences in the seats (or think it will be a challenge) when it comes to Shakespeare. "The best gift one can give local audiences is a balance between familiar and popular shows and new, challenging shows," said Offshoot's artistic director Susan Steadman. Steadman has witnessed the power of Shakespeare over her cast of "Twelfth Night." While some of the actors were familiar with performing Shakespeare, newcomers got an immense rush from discovering they understood what their characters strange words meant and what motivated them. Steadman's cast for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a mix of professional actors and apprentices. Many of the professional actors had been in the show before but wanted to do it again and play a different part. Jason Vaughn, who recently appeared in "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz" and has taught several classes will play Bottom in this production, while Jen King has been in several productions for Offshoot and participated in theater for close to 12 years but has never done Shakespeare before. Offshoot will also offer two one week Shakespeare camps between the opening and closing of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The camps will focus on the comedies and the campers will learn not to be intimidated by the language. They will learn the difference between studying Shakespeare from a literary standpoint, like they do in school, and looking at it from a stage work level. The camps will also learn about the manners and the social classes and interaction of the time. Offshoot is going all out for this summer's production. They will stage the show in Sams Auditorium July 12-28 and will set the play in Athenian times. There is a lot of action and comedy in the show and Steadman believes that the actors and the audience will have a lot to sink their teeth into. The group is already facing some challenges, including the need of a costumer. If you are interested in helping out or would like to learn more about Offshoot or the show, phone 770-631-2362 or visit www.offshootproductions.org. |
