The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host Shakespeare LIVE!, a theater troupe that has performed for more than half a million students since its inception in 1997, for a performance of one of the Bard’s great tragedies, Macbeth, on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., in the auditorium at Wieden Hall. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most dark and powerful works and best experienced as the playwright intended–live on stage. The public is invited to attend this special event; $10 donations will be accepted at the door to go toward future cultural programming.
As the educational touring wing of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Shakespeare LIVE! productions are hailed as innovative, visually stunning, and accessible to students. While the texts are abridged, the troupe prides itself on keeping Shakespeare’s language intact and delivering performances that are dynamic and appealing, exciting and engaging, and witty and imaginative.
Audience members who would like to learn more about the play, its characters and their motivations, and its historical background, are invited to come early and enjoy a pre-show talk with members of the troupe at 6:30 p.m. The performance will be followed by a short question and answer session.
Through special arrangement, the troupe also will be offering two theater workshops at UMPI during the day of their performance to provide high school students from across the region with a unique and engaging opportunity to learn about Shakespeare’s work.
Shakespeare LIVE! is supported by Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national program of The National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of 42 professional theater companies selected to participate in Shakespeare for a New Generation, bringing the finest productions of Shakespeare to thousands of middle- and high-school students in communities across the United States. This is the eleventh year of Shakespeare in American Communities, the largest tour of Shakespeare in American history. For more information about Shakespeare for a New Generation please visit http://www.ShakespeareInAmericanCommunities.org/.
Additional funding for Shakespeare LIVE! is provided by The Investors Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, The Provident Bank Foundation, and the Turrell Fund. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s programs are made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional major support is received from The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, F. M. Kirby Foundation, The Edward T. Cone Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, CTW Foundation, and Drew University, as well as contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, government agencies and individuals.
At play’s end, the troupe will offer a 15-minute question and answer session for audience members. Written in 1606 in honor of James I, the new Scottish-born King of England, Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest and darkest tragedy. Referred to in theater circles as “the Scottish play” because many consider the play cursed, Macbeth is based on Holinshed’s “Chronicles,” written in 1587, the source of many of Shakespeare’s historical plays.
The public is invited to attend this performance; $10 donations will be accepted at the door to assist with future cultural events. The troupe has asked that audience members please be seated five minutes before the program begins. No recording during the play is allowed. For more information, please call 768-9452 or email info@maine.edu.