Flatwater Shakespeare Company announces cast list for *Hamlet*

 

The Flatwater Shakespeare Company is pleased to announce the cast for the fall production of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, directed by Bob Hall. There were many great auditions, and difficult casting decisions had to be made. Congratulations to those who were cast, and heartfelt thanks to all who tried out for the production. 

Hamlet Cast List (in alphabetical order)

Paden Alexander - Rosencrantz

Sara Broad - Lady in Waiting

Tom Crew - Bernardo/1st Gravedigger

Andy Dillehay - Horatio

Stephen Gaines - Ghost of Hamlet's Father

Emma Gruhl - Ophelia

Dillon Kirby - Murderer/Osric/Priest

Patrick Lambrecht - Claudius

Rachel Lambrecht - Gertrude

Matt Lukasiewicz - Hamlet

Aden Marshall - Francisco/Reynaldo

Walter McDowell, III - Marcellus/King's Body Guard/Sea Captain

Larry Mota - Guildenstern

Richard Nielsen - Polonius

Scott Shomaker - Laertes

Rich Sibley - Player King

Jesse Snider - Boy/Prologue/2nd Gravedigger

Deb Waechter - Lady in Waiting

Natalie Weiss - Player Queen

Flatwater Shakespeare Youth Presents *As You Like It*!

Flatwater Shakespeare Youth stages As You Like It at the Lincoln Community Foundation Garden, 15th and "N" Streets, this weekend: Friday and Saturday, July 17 and 18, 7 pm.  

Flatwater Shakespeare's Youth productions, supported by Humanities Nebraska, bring young actors into direct contact with Shakespearean language and stagecraft. Under the direction by Paden Alexander, one of the program's esteemed graduates, the current program allows students to work with actors who have themselves just completed a run of the same play for Flatwater Free Shakespeare's summer show. 

This production connects with the 1960s "back to nature" movement.  As with the mainstage summer show, there is no admission charge, although donations will be happily accepted. 

This past weekend, Megan Higgins and Emma Gruhl visited the Youth production cast and crew, sharing their recent Flatwater Free Shakespeare experiences with the play.  Add your support for these talented young artists by attending the show!

Making Theater New / Making New Theater

So much is going on in Lincoln!

Tonight and Tomorrow, the Nebraska Girls Shakespeare Company continue their tradition of tackling Shakespeare's most problematic problem comedies, with All's Well That Ends Well. Thursday and Friday, 7 pm, at Wyuka Stables, 3600 "O" Street.  The play explores love, war, class status, gender expectations, and all the complications therein! Helena, a brilliant young woman, makes increasingly drastic decisions in order to get the attention and devotion of the guy she likes. All unfolds in this production in the early 1970s, with the backdrop of the Vietnam War.

Tickets are just $7 for adults and $5 for children (under 13)! Cash or check only please.

NGSC is a local theatre company founded in 2008. It features girls ages 13-18 taking on every aspect of production themselves: acting, directing, producing, and technical work. NGSC is dedicated to empowering young women through the arts.

Next weekend, Flatwater Shakespeare Youth stages As You Like It at the Lincoln Community Foundation Garden, 15th and "N" Streets. Friday and Saturday, July 17 and 18, 7 pm. Flatwater Shakespeare's Youth productions, supported by Humanities Nebraska, bring young actors into direct contact with Shakespearean language and stagecraft. Under the direction by Paden Alexander, one of the program's esteemed graduates, the current program allows students to work with actors who have themselves just completed a run of the same play for Flatwater Free Shakespeare's summer show. This production connects with the 1960s "back to nature" movement.  As with the mainstage summer show, there is no admission charge, although donations will be happily accepted. 

Also next weekend, the Angels Theatre Company presents its First Flight Festival! The brain child of the Angels Playwriting Collective and Director Judy Hart, First Flight celebrates new work. Nine new short plays will premiere in UNL's Studio Theatre, located on the first floor of the Temple Building, 12th and R Streets in Lincoln, Wednesday through Sunday, July 15-19.

There are too many plays to present in one afternoon or evening, so each play will be presented 3 times during the course of the Festival. Reflection conversations with the playwrights will follow each performance. You can see all 9 plays on Saturday July 18 by attending the matinee and the evening performances.

Tickets are available at the door or at www.angelscompany.org. General admission is $10 for one flight or $15 for a festival pass to attend both flights. Please contact Judy Hart at 402-474-2206 with questions.

Flight 1 - Wednesday July 15 and Friday July 17 at 7:30 PM and Saturday July 18 at 3 PM. The Bequest by Cherie Frederick, Shock by Robin Buckallew, Knocking on Heaven's Gate by Steve Enersen, and Killing Crazy by Brian Bornstein.  

Flight 2 - Thursday July 16 and Saturday July 18 at 7:30 PM and Sunday July 19 at 3 PM. Miss Perfect by Erin Glenn-Hash, Kitchen Garden by Brigid Amos, American Cafe by Paula Ray, and The Lion and Me by Steve Enersen.

Special note: American Cafe includes in its cast FSC Artistic Director Bob Hall!

Acts of Faith

We've shared this previously on our Facebook page, but it bears repeating:

The cartoonist is Tom Toro; this was The New Yorker’s Cartoon of the Day for July 2, 2015.

Shakespeare is inspirational. Actors and artists who present Shakespeare are inspirational. Audiences who attend Shakespearean performances are inspirational. Communities that support making Shakespeare -- and the arts in general -- accessible to all are truly inspirational.

Looking Back at Flatwater Free Shakespeare's *As You Like It*

Audience Member Comments: 

Fantastic show. One of those wonderful shows you will never forget. The cast is very talented.

The play was great! I loved the music – now I will not be able to see another Shakespeare play without feeling like the music is essential. Really an outstanding production, so well performed and creative. And do to this in the heat, night after night – just amazing! Lincoln is fortunate to have such talented and dedicated people.

Terrific production tonight, from the entire cast, but especially Megan Higgins as Rosalind / Ganymede and Cale Yates as Orlando.

Congratulations on another awesome play in the parks! You were all wonderful, but let me do a few special shout outs for things that were particularly impressive to me as an actor. Tom Crew (Touchstone), it was excellent to see you on stage again: your comedic talent is always appreciated wherever you appear, and you truly shined here, as well as Judy Thiem (Audrey) alongside you. Kaylee Roach (Woman in Black), on making a more silent character very memorable, a truly formidable task in my opinion. Petrea Whittier (Phebe), on being a wonderful dork that was a delight to watch, and Richard Sibley (Duke Frederick and Duke Senior) on performing two opposing characters with such definitive differences. And, of course, a shout out to the entire cast and crew, including Bob Hall in directing and Steve Buhler as dramaturg, on putting together a delightful production – you're all fabulous!

It was such an awesome surprise to get to see Scott Shomaker (Oliver) perform Shakespeare tonight! Scott did an amazing job (yay LHS) and the show was a wonderful way to spend a summer evening (for free!).

I had a really wonderful time tonight at Flatwater Shakespeare Company's production of As You Like It out at Belmont Park! Andy Dillehay (LeBeau) and Paul Pearson (Adam) were just lovely, as was the entire cast!

Excellent production of As You Like It! Thank you for making Shakespeare so accessible. We love it!

We felt like we were in the forest of Arden!!

The spirited musical stylings of Bret Olson (Amiens) were the “icing on the cake” in Flatwater Shakespeare Company's production of As You Like It.  With the support of a solid group of talented actors, actresses, and production crew, Olson approached Shakespeare's songs with a modern sensibility, achieving superbly balanced melodic interpretations, in tune with the mood each piece required within its scene. He draped colorful cascades of spirited, uplifting, and melancholic attitudes together in his arrangements, exemplified by his rendition of "Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind", from which he also drew key signatures and chord progressions to lace many scene transitions together. Olson cleverly added a musical layer to the audience's experience that left a memorable impression on me and other Flatwater Friends and Followers. I left the show with a memorable melody in mind. Someday, perhaps, I will be able to get "Lover and his Lass" out of my head. Probably not : ) . Great show! 

Many thanks, Lincoln -- we had a glorious time in Arden!