After a one year hiatus, Adirondack Shakespeare Company, known locally as ADK Shakes, is returning to the mountains with new experiences, a professional cast, and performances of Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
According to Artistic Director Tara Bradway, the professional theatre troupe is presenting six performances from July 31-August 4. » Continue Reading.
After eight years of summer performances, Adirondack Shakespeare Company will suspend operations this season.
A number of factors contributed to the decision to suspend programming in 2018, according to an announcement sent to the press. Although educational programming during the school year provided a strong backbone for the Company, the summer season lacked much-needed financial support. Housing for the acting troupe also became a challenge early in the year when the Company learned their lease would not be renewed. » Continue Reading.
On Friday, Oct. 13, the Adirondack Shakespeare Company will present a production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. ADK Shakes, founded by Artistic Director Tara Bradway and Executive Director Patrick Siler, was formed in May of 2008, and is a not-for-profit theater company serving the Adirondack Region.
In this early Shakespeare comedy, the King of Navarre and all his gentlemen have dedicated themselves to study for three years, swearing not to get distracted by so much as talking with a woman. Naturally, that’s just the moment that the Princess of France and her train of ladies arrive on a diplomatic mission. Packed with clowns, pranks, and pageants, Shakespeare’s delightful “feast of languages” explores the enduring trials of friendship, courtship, and love. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Shakespeare Company (ADK Shakes) has announced its fifth season of autumn repertory shows on tour throughout the region.
Each autumn for the past few years, ADK Shakes has presented Hamlet. This year, the Company’s Artistic Director takes the stage as the Prince of Denmark. This is not the first time — even this year — that the Company has explored the fluid nature of gender on stage. In the spring, Simone Stadler took the stage as Macbeth and opposite her, Sean Lounsbury played the role of Lady Macbeth in a gender-swap of the couple. » Continue Reading.
Since 2010, the Adirondack Shakespeare Company has been offering professional productions of classical plays and also original works for children.
This year in addition to its regular line-up, the Company is adding an Arts & Crafts Workshop to its children play, Songs of the Iroquois: Turtle Island thanks to an ongoing fundraiser through Adirondack Gives. » Continue Reading.
ADK Shakespeare Company is launching its first spring tour of upstate NY this year with productions of Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Performances by the company’s fully professional cast will be on tour from Saratoga Springs to Upper Jay from April 10-19.
In past years, ADK Shakes has produced spring titles in New York City, but this year are making a transition upstate, concentrating all three of their mainstage production seasons in the Adirondack Region. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Shakespeare Company (ADK Shakes) is gearing up for its second Autumn Season. 2014 saw ADK Shakes bring the Park a total of five full productions by William Shakespeare as well as an original play for children penned by the Company’s Executive Director, Patrick Siler. Two more productions are about to get underway: Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew.
“What’s special about this fall is that we are beginning a year-long celebration of our Fifth Anniversary Season,” says Siler. “Macbeth is one of the titles that we produced in our very first summer in Schroon Lake, and we are very excited to revisit each one of those show’s over the next year.” In addition to Macbeth, next summer the group will also perform two other titles from their inaugural season: Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It. » Continue Reading.
The mountains, nature and waterways are just part of what makes our time in the Adirondacks so unique. The other part is the artists, musicians and performers that make the Adirondacks their home while sharing their creativity with the rest of us. Though the numerous Adirondack professional and regional theaters are offering a variety of entertainment, it’s the unique opportunities that these theaters have on the docket that I’d like to highlight.
Pendragon Theatre and the Lake Placid Sinfonietta are presenting “A Soldier’s Tale” on August 3 at 2 pm on the Pendragon stage and a 7 pm showing at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. In additional to their amazing main stage offerings and concerts, this special event brings two professional entities together for a rare production. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Shakespeare Company troupe is teaming-up with the Lake Placid Center for the Arts to present a new “Sunday Shakespeare Series” this month with three original mash-ups of the Bard’s greatest hits.
ADK Shakespeare’s company of professional actors presents selections from the best of the Bard on different themes each week: true love, villainy, and “kings and things”. Each show will run about an hour and touch on such beloved classics as: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, Henry V, and many more. These shows are fast-paced, light-hearted tours across Shakespeare’s canon. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Shakespeare Company (ADK Shakes), a professional theatre troupe that has been entertaining summer audiences for the past four years, is now expanding their programming into the fall and spring season. The first foray will be Shakespeare’s early comedy, Love’s Labour’s Lost, which will be presented at four venues, all brand new to ADK Shakes.
ADK Shakes is known for its “Shakespeare IN THE RAW” method of performing with no sets, few props, minimalist costuming and incredibly shortened rehearsal period. Artistic Director Tara Bradway will be directing the first fall show and is excited about the company she’s assembled. “This is the largest ensemble we’ve ever worked with,” she says. “Usually our productions employ a cast of twelve, but this show features fifteen incredibly talented professionals. We are really looking forward to see what they do with this too-often overlooked play!” Although you may recognize several veteran performers who are returning to the ranks, the show also includes many newcomers. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Shakespeare Company (ADK Shakes) is back for their third season. This year’s Summer Festival Season features Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Hamlet, as well as Tom Stoppard’s comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and a new ADK Shakes original children’s show.
The Twelve Labors of Hercules, an original play for children, opened on July 11th at the Boathouse Theater in Schroon Lake. Hercules tells the story of Octavius and Agrippa, two young Romans who are magically transported back to Ancient Greece in order to learn an important lesson about friendship. Before they can return home, they must complete the twelve fantastical labors of Hercules. » Continue Reading.
Shakespeare in the Park comes to the Adirondacks in many forms this summer from the Adirondack Shakespeare Company’s five-week tour of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) to the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts traveling performance of Romeo and Juliet. The one theatre presentation set apart from the others is The Depot Theatre’s annual Shakespeare program for young people.
For the tenth year Westport’s The Depot Theatre has introduced Shakespeare to those children from 7th grade and older to the wonders of the Baird. Directed and instructed by theatre educators Lindsay Pontius and Scott Gibbs, The Depot Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park do not hold formal auditions but use word of mouth and The Depot website to let interested children know when rehearsals will start happening for the annual Ballard Park performance. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Shakespeare Company (ADK Shakes) is returning to the Adirondack region for its second full Summer Festival Season. The company plans to follow last summer’s presentations of As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth with an all-new expanded season featuring ADK Shakes’ daring and adrenaline-fueled RAW performance style which strips the Bard down to the bare bones.
This year, the company will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Merchant of Venice, along with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield and Theseus and the Minotaur, an original children’s production by Sean Adams.
In addition to their full season, ADK Shakes has taken on a new challenge. The company is determined to revitalize the outdoor amphitheater at Scaroon Manor Day-Use Facility (formerly Taylor’s Point). This historic landmark was once a vibrant destination for locals as well as tourists looking to take in professional theatre amidst the beauty of the Adirondack Mountains. ADK Shakes’ Artistic Board has made it their mission to get the outdoor amphitheater on New York’s list of historic sites.
“One of the reasons we are looking to establish a Shakespeare company in the Adirondacks is to save this amazing outdoor amphitheater,” says Artistic Director Tara Bradway. The company’s plans to raise awareness during the course of the season include public presentations and petitions in the Adirondack region.
The Adirondack region tour of The Complete Works will begin July 4th, while the Mainstage Season opens July 21st and will run through August 7th. Performances of the children’s show Theseus and the Minotaur are set to run from July 27th through August 6th. Performances will take place primarily at the Boathouse Theater in Schroon Lake Village, as well as the Little Theater on the Farm in Fort Edward and LARAC Gallery in Glen Falls. Weather permitting, the final weekend of performances will be held at the outdoor amphitheater at Scaroon Manor.
This event is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, administered locally by the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council. For more information, a full performance schedule and to purchase tickets, visit www.adkshakes.org. Email inquiries may be sent to info@adkshakes.org.
Illustration: Postcard of the historic Sacroon Manor outdoor amphitheater, Schroon Lake, NY.
The Adirondack Shakespeare Company (ADK Shakes) will present its first full Summer Festival Season at the Boathouse Theatre in Schroon Lake Village with As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. Last year, the company presented Hungry Will’s Variety Hour at the outdoor amphitheater at Scaroon Manor, formerly Taylor’s Point.
This summer, a company of twelve professional actors will present the three plays in repertory over the course of three weeks using ADK Shakes’s trademark, adrenaline-fueled “RAW” performance style. This method – “Shakespeare in The RAW” – strips away all extraneous elements of production, and has yielded the company success, selling out its latest production of Richard III in New York City.
With only Shakespeare’s words remaining, the actors and the audience build the world of the play together in their imaginations. In performance, the audience is let in on that rare moment when the acting company discovers the play for the very first time. Greg Davies, who played the title role in Richard III, calls his experience with the RAW method “the most energy and the most excitement I have ever felt on stage.” The company considers THE RAW as much an extreme sport as it is an art form.
ADK Shakes presents As You Like It on July 16, 22, and 30; Romeo and Juliet on July 18, 23, and 31; and Macbeth on July 25 and 29 and August 1. All performances are at 2:00 p.m. In case of rain, performances will take place inside the Boathouse Theatre in Schroon Lake Village. Weather permitting, performances will be held outside the Theatre at the Bandstand in Schroon Lake Town Park.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.adkshakes.org.
Photo: Tara Bradway as Helena, Collin Ware as Demetrius in a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In Hungry Will’s Variety Hour produced by The Adirondack Shakespeare Company in 2010.
The Adirondack Shakespeare Company will celebrate its inception by presenting Hungry Will’s Variety Hour at the historical Scaroon Manor Amphitheater on the west shore of Schroon Lake at 3 PM this Saturday, August 1, 2009. The 500-seat outdoor Greek style amphitheater, which has been dormant for the past 50 years, is located on the grounds of the Scaroon Manor Day Use Area which reopened to the public in 2006. According to a DEC it’s the “first new recreational facility constructed in the Adirondack Forest Preserve since 1977.”
ADK Shakespeare is a company conceived by Patrick Siler and Tara Bradway to bring professional productions of classic plays to the Adirondack region. Hungry Will’s Variety Hour will feature a select group of actors drawn from across the country performing scenes, songs, and speeches from Shakespeare and other great dramatic authors.
ADK Shakespeare utilizes an approach to classical performance where all non-essentials are stripped away and the language of the playwright takes center-stage. Actors prepare their roles individually, and with only one day of rehearsal, present the full production. “Because even the company is unsure of exactly what will happen, the performances are authentic, dynamic, compelling, and unlike most anything you are used to seeing in the theater,” according to Siler. “Our goal is to discover the play for the first time with the audience present, and together create a world by mixing the raw materials of the author’s language with the catalyst of the audience’s imagination”.
There will be one performance only: Saturday, August 1 at 3:00 p.m. with a rain-date of Sunday, August 2. This event is FREE with paid admission to the Scaroon Manor Day Use Facility, although donations are appreciated. Reservations are not necessary, but can be made by emailing info@adkshakes.org.
Latest News Headlines
Latest News Headlines
The Adirondack Almanack is a public forum dedicated to promoting and discussing current events, history, arts, nature and outdoor recreation and other topics of interest to the Adirondacks and its communities
We publish commentary and opinion pieces from voluntary contributors, as well as news updates and event notices from area organizations. Contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The information, views and opinions expressed by these various authors are not necessarily those of the Adirondack Almanack or its publisher, the Adirondack Explorer.
General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor Melissa Hart.
To advertise on the Adirondack Almanack, or to receive information on rates and design, please click here.Catch up on all your Adirondack
news, delivered weekly to your inbox
Help us keep bringing you the Adirondack information you value.
Email
Twitter
RSS
Facebook
Recent Almanack Comments