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Shake on the Lake performs 'As You Like It' Thursday evening in Centennial Park

By Billie Owens

Submitted photos and press release:

The sounds of laughter, music, and Shakespeare echo inside an old general store building on Main Street in Perry. When the door is opened, the company members of Shake on the Lake – the oldest-running professional Shakespeare Company in Wyoming County – are revealed.

This is their eighth summer season. Shake on the Lake began its 2019 tour in July, traveling to eight counties in Western New York and the Finger Lakes.

Artists from throughout the country are staging Shakespeare’s most musical show, the pastoral comedy, "As You Like It." The resident company rehearses the show on site in Perry, specializing in “fast, fun, and physical” performances, which bring the arts to public spaces in rural communities.

The play will be performed in Batavia starting at 6:30 p.m. this Thursday, Aug. 8, in the city's Centennial Park.

No tickets required (show is free). Show is 90 minutes without an intermission. Bringing lawn chairs and blankets is recommended. All ages welcome.

Theater artist Josh Rice, who grew up in Perry and graduated from Perry Central School, cofounded Shake on the Lake. Eight seasons later, he returns every summer to produce Shakespeare with a company of professional actors from around the nation.

“We started Shake on the Lake with the intention to create a company based around play and trying to inject that spirit of play into our process, as well as our product," Rice said. "From day one, we focus on play-driven play-making where everyone – from company interns to our senior theater artists – can make a creative impact on the play.

"Giving artists ownership in the creation of a work, as well as the company itself, makes for a much-more rewarding and productive process.”

This summer the Artistic Team chose to tackle Shakespeare’s "As You Like It." The company went from script to show in two and a half weeks, during which time they also present young artist educational programming, community workshops, and outreach to Groveland Correctional Facility through their Voices UnCaged program, which recently received national recognition at the Arts in Corrections national conference in California. Actors live in the community for the summer, many of whom return year after year to work and eventually become seasonal residents.

One of those artists is Chad Bradford, who is associate artistic director for Shake on the Lake and is a founding company member. This summer’s tour is the fifth Shake on the Lake show Bradford has directed as he returns to Western New York after performing with Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre.

“When I think about presenting Shakespeare in 90 minutes or less like we do at Shake on the Lake, it means we have to listen to each other and use collaboration to create our fun, fast, and physical shows,” Bradford said. “Our spectacle is original music, improvisation, and in having our actors having fun devising and performing.”

Shake on the Lake first began performing at its home stage, Silver Lake, where it continues to have a four-show residency during the first weekend in August. The company has transformed from a single venue to a region-wide tour with 18 shows.

“In the Elizabethan era, companies of performers would travel to the outskirts of the rural British countryside, set up shop, and perform these same Shakespearean plays,” Rice said. “Shake on the Lake echoes this history, and we thrive in communities that have similar rural sensibilities to those 400 years ago. Shakespeare has been performed everywhere, for everyone, and we’re proving that all communities deserve great theater --especially these rural ones.”

“We regularly have audiences in triple-figures," said Managing Director Pilar McKay. “To me, this shows that we are fulfilling our mission to create art that people want to be part of. Shake on the Lake is special because we live, work, and believe in our rural communities.”

Catch Shake on the Lake on tour this year in Wyoming County (Silver Lake – Perry/Castile, Letchworth St. Park, Arcade, and Attica), Genesee (Batavia), Orleans (Point Breeze and Lyndonville), Livingston (Geneseo and Linwood Gardens), Erie (Springville), Monroe (Brockport), Ontario (Cumming Nature Center), and Allegany (Angelica and Wellsville).

For more information about Shake on the Lake, click here.

Background:

Shake on the Lake is a live theater festival located in Silver Lake. Founded in 2012, as the only professional theater company in five adjacent counties in Western New York, the mission of the festival is to “entertain, engage, and enrich those in the community by creating theater productions in a natural outdoor setting.”

Show Synopsis:

"As You Like It" follows the story of Rosalind, who faces an uncertain future after the exile of her royal father by her uncle, the newly installed Duke Frederick. Buoyed by her loving cousin, Celia, and the rascally clown, Touchstone, Rosalind makes the best of her lot, and by chance, entrances the eyes of a brave young man, Orlando. After Orlando’s successful wrestling match against the Duke’s champion, both Orlando and Rosalind must secretly flee to uncertain lands to escape the eyre of the new duke as well as Orlando’s jealous brother, Oliver. They run separately to the Forest of Arden, fearing they will never see one another again, not knowing the magic and romance that awaits them in the forest.

Alternative Synopsis:

“All the world’s a stage,” and Shake on the Lake is poised to bring the “players with exits and entrances,” playing “many parts,” as they bring Shakespeare’s most musical comedy, "As You Like It," on tour across Western New York this summer. Join Rosalind, one of Shakespeare’s most savvy and strong heroines as she flees to the Forest of Arden with her comedic sidekicks to find her exiled father, Duke Senior. But what fate awaits her in the woods? Come find out as Shake on the Lake puts its fast, fun, and physical-style on display in this comedy about love, longing, and the beauty of the natural world, incorporating classic Shakespearean tropes like cross-dressing, mistaken identity, live music and songs, and...wrestling. All of Western New York is our stage in this 90-minute musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s "As You Like It," on tour now through Aug. 11.

TALES FROM JAPAN; Children's Theatre on Stage at GCC Batavia Campus

By Cathy DeBellis

The Forum Players Children's Theatre presents a collection of traditional Japanese tales where treasure is discovered in unexpected places, the most unassuming characters are heroes, and beauty is found in all aspects of nature.

Presented Friday-Saturday, April 25-26 at 7pm and Sunday Matinee, April 27 at 2pm. 

Tickets:  Adults $8, Seniors (55+), Students (16+), & GCC Faculty & Staff $5, GCC Students with ID and Children $3.

Event Date and Time
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A Celebration of Black History

By Cathy DeBellis

The Forum Players Theatre Company of Genesee Community College will present A Celebration of Black History, Friday and Saturday, February 21 & 22, 2014 at 7:30 pm with a matinee performance at 2:00 pm Sunday, February 23 at the Stuart Steiner Theatre, Genesee Center for the Arts, Genesee Community College, Batavia.  This multi-arts event takes the stage in celebration of Black History Month and features a collage of songs, dance, poetry, monologues and a one act play, all celebrating the achievements of black Americans and recognizing the central role of African Americans

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GCC's Forum Players Present "The Triumph of Love"

By Cathy DeBellis

Join us for an entrancing musical based on the 18th century comedy by Pierre Marivaux and the book by James Magruder featuring a young princess trying to win the love of an exiled prince, while she ensnares two others.  In the end, all see the triumph of love.  Performances @ 7:30 p.m. nightly Thursday-Saturday May 2-4 with a Sunday matinee May 5th @ 2 p.m.  Tickets: $8/$5/$3  Tickets available online at boxoffice@genesee.edu, by phone 345-6814 or in person at the GCC Center for the Arts Box Office.

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Dinner Theater at Yorkshire Hall in Pembroke

By George Walker

Dinner Theater comes to Yorkshire Hall in Pembroke!  Usually performed only for groups, this date (July 14th at 6:30 p.m.) is open to the general public and includes a delicious dinner and Yorkshire Hall's raved-about comedy/mystery/farce:  "13 Memento Mori Lane."  Get a sneak preview, with video and photos, and see the mouth-watering menu at www.HolidayHollow.com.  (Click on the Dinner Theater link for video photos, prices, and information.)  Advance reservations only.  Call 585-762-8160 or 716-474-4300 for details and reservations.

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Encore Theatre Arts Presents Spoonriver Anthology

By Lynda Hodgins

 

Encore! Theatre Arts to present

Edgar Lee Masters’

Spoon River Anthology

at The Space

 

Rochester, N.Y. - Tickets are now on sale for Encore! Theatre Arts Spring production, Edgar Lee Masters Spoon River Anthology, which will be performed May 20-22, 2011.

 

About the production:

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Batavia Players Summer Youth Theatre

By Loren Penman

 Don't miss this great show -- here's the link to a teaser on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/user/PenguinMultimedia#p/a/u/0/RJ4w7r5l964

Batavia Players 2010 Summer Youth Theatre production of 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'

By Loren Penman

DON'T MISS IT!  THREE NIGHTS ONLY!

Batavia Players 2010 Summer Youth Theatre Production of

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 19, 20 and 21, 2010

7:30 PM in the Batavia High School Auditorium

Tickets available online at www.showtix4u.com

$10.00 ($8.00 for students/senior citizens)

Event Date and Time
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O-A Drama Club shines spotlight on the holidays

By Ethan Thompson

It was showtime last night at Oakfield-Alabama High School and the Drama Club was ready to shine for the community. And it did.

The teens have been preparing to perform two plays since October, putting in two-hours days until recently when they started practing three to four hours a day. The plays lasted around two and a half hours with two brief intermissions in between acts.

The first one was about the first Thanksgiving, from the point of view of a young man named Dwayne, who had not done his homework the previous night. Due to his lack of studying, Duane's understanding of the first Thanksgiving was a little skewed.

He was not prepared when his teacher called on him to give a synopsis of that celebrated mealtime. In Dwayne's eyes, the Salem witch trials took place at the same time as the first Thanksgiving. He also believed football was invented by the pilgrim men as a way for them to relax and be lazy while the women did all the work. In the end, Dwayne's teacher got so fed up with his inaccuracies she asked him to stop.

The second play was about the Brookshire family's annual Christmas letter. Mrs. Brookshire asked her family to help her write it but they declined for various reasons and excuses. So she gave up and decided to write it herself.

We then got a glimpse of the big events that happened during the year as she wrote them down in her letter. In the end, the rest of the family realized how important writing the letter was to Mrs. Brookshire, and they helped her finish it.

The following are some video clips from some interviews I conducted with some of the main characters.

Batavia Players presents Child's Christmas Quilt

By Brian Hillabush

The Batavia Players will be presenting the show "Child's Christmas Quilt", on Friday, December 19 and Saturday, December 20 at Genesee Community College. The shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. on those nights.

The 10th Winter Theatre Celebration is directed by Patrick D. Burke and will feature the All City Children's Choir.

Tickets are just $5 and are sold at Go Art! at 201 East Main St. in Batavia and at the door at the Stuart Steiner Theature at GCC.

You can get more information on the show by calling 585-343-9313 ex. 31.

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