The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

Shakespeare LIVE! Troupe Heads for Stages

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's educational touring company, Shakespeare LIVE!, will present one-hour family performances of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tragedy of Macbeth at the theater's main stage, the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in Madison.

A Midsummer Night's Dream will be March 10 and April 14 at 11 a.m. This play is the ideal “first Shakespeare” for elementary grades, and a riotous roller-coaster ride for teens (and adults). The Tragedy of Macbeth will be March 10 and April 14 at 2 p.m. This Macbeth is appropriate for grades 6 and up. Tickets are $15 for adults, which includes one free ticket for a child under age 18 with each ticket purchased.

These performances are part of The Stages Festival, a month-long, statewide celebration of theater and the performing arts.  The Stages Festival, a project of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, takes place each March and offers discounted and/or free tickets to performances, workshops, and events statewide suitable for all age groups.

Shakespeare LIVE!, celebrating its 15th season, travels to schools and other venues throughout the state and as far afield as Connecticut with 60-minute versions of two of Shakespeare's most popular plays. Since 1997, Shakespeare LIVE! has presented more than 1,400 performances to nearly half a million young people at more than 750 schools and other venues throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

For tickets, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org. To inquire about bringing Shakespeare LIVE! to your school or venue, call 973-408-3980 or e-mail ssheptock@ShakespeareNJ.org.

The cast of Shakespeare LIVE! includes Aaron Bartz of New York, N.Y.; Craig Bazan of Camden, N.J.; Cameron Berner of New York, N.Y.; Connor Carew of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Rachel Fox of New York, N.Y. Erica Knight of Berkeley Heights, N.J.; Allison Layman of Teaneck, N.J.; Arthur Lazalde of New York, N.Y.; Meg Kiley Smith of San Anselmo, Calif.: and Nathan Winklestein of New York, N.Y.

Shakespeare LIVE! is part of 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 40 professional theater companies selected to participate in Shakespeare for a New Generation, bringing productions of Shakespeare to thousands of middle school and high school students in communities across the United States.  For more information on Shakespeare for a New Generation, visit www.ShakespeareInAmericanCommunities.org.

Funding for Shakespeare LIVE! is provided, in part, by the Turrell Fund, the MetLife Foundation, Investors Bank, Provident Bank Foundation, the Ambrose and Ida Fredrickson Foundation, and the John and Margaret Post Foundation.

March 2, 2012

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