Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park 2009
The Tempest & Henry V
June 26-August 30
Friday-Sunday at 7:30 pm
with special events throughout the summer

Admission is free, donations gratefully received.
Reservations are free to make and highly recommended.

Barnsdall Park
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027

BOX OFFICE ALERT:
THERE ARE NO MORE RESERVATIONS AVAILABLE FOR
FRIDAY, JULY 3.

THERE ARE STILL SPOTS AVAILABLE FOR SUNDAY, JULY 5.

To reserve your seat: boxoffice@independentshakespeare.com
(tell us which performance and for how many)
or call (323) 836-0288.

"...establishing itself as one of the community's treasures."
--Los Angeles Times

"...an audacious mix of craft, style, and wonderment"
--LA Weekly

The Tempest
In Shakespeare's final play, spirits, first love, music, and the forces of revenge intersect on a mysterious island.

Prospero has waited twelve years to punish his duplicitous brother with the sorcery he has been perfecting in exile. When there paths collide, he discovers magic doesn't make the man, the past is only history, and the world can make itself anew. (Perfect for family audiences.)

Henry V
In this high-octane portrait of England's favorite king, 15 actors play 40 characters, span countries and years, and decimate a foreign power. A play about theater masquerading as a play about war, it's full of thrilling speeches, big characters and unruly humor.

ISC first played this production in Los Angeles in 2002 to critical acclaim: "style and energy...pure comic delight" -LA Weekly, "a marvel of ensemble unity...illuminates the verse with wonderful eloquence." -Los Angeles Times

ISC SUMMER SALON SERIES
PLEASE NOTE: the staged readings will NOT be presented at Barnsdall Park. The venue is TBA. Please visit our web site,
independentshakespeare.com for the most up to date information.

The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker (Thursday August 6 at 7:30 p.m.)
This Jacobean comedy centers on the real-life Moll Frith, who dresses as a man rather than live the limited life of a woman. A girl who swaggers and carouses, she is nonetheless the moral center of the play. She calls out rogues, fights duels, and helps love triumph over tyranny. This vibrant portrayal of female deviancy besting male ineffectuality is as relevant and fun as the year it was written.

The Alchemist by Ben Johnson (Thursday August 13 at 7:30 p.m.)
Jonson’s rambunctious satire takes aim at the avarice and credulity of human kind. When the master of the house flees London to avoid the plague, his quick-witted butler, Jeremy, joins forces with a conman and a prostitute to fleece the gullible and greedy. Masquerading as an Alchemist, Jeremy convinces the well-to-do that he can raise the dead, transmute lead into gold, and summon the Queen of the Fairies.

Edward II by Christopher Marlowe (Thursday August 20 at 7:30 p.m.)
In this tragedy (wildly popular in its time) Edward II neglects his wife and kingdom in the reckless pursuit of his chief courtier, Piers Gaveston. His consuming passion for this nobleman leads to civic unrest and the moral reprobation of a sitting king by religious and political enemies. Full of Marlowe’s risk-taking theatricality, it’s gruesome, shockingly funny, and not suitable for children.

CURTAIN-RAISING PERFORMANCES BY GUEST ARTISTS (performed at 6:30 p.m. before the evening’s main performances)

Impro Theatre presents Shakespeare UnScripted (Friday July 17 & Sunday July 19 at 6:30 p.m.)
A completely improvised play in the style of William Shakespeare! Poetry, drama, comedy and romance all are possible when Impro Theatre attempts to “ascend the brightest heaven of invention,” creating a completely unique and thoroughly entertaining at story every performance. ISC is happy to welcome them back to their Barnsdall Park stage for more inspired improvisation. “Impro Theatre’s considerable agility and its infectious sense of play makes you want to go back again to see what else this group can conjure...”.- LA TIMES

ME Mime Project (Friday August 21 & Saturday August 22 at 6:30 p.m.)
Mitchel Evans’ Mime Project is a blend of Mime, Russian Clown Theater, Silent Film and Looney Tunes. Mitchel Evans was founder and co-director of the renowned L.A. Mime Company, and performed in such diverse places as the Hollywood Bowl and The National Theatre in Bucharest, Romania. With this new company, he has created a modern approach to an ancient Art. “He is a genuinely gifted performer, so complete his body seems translucent. “ --Los Angeles Times

Ceora Winds (Friday, August 28 at 6:30 p.m.) The members of Ceora Winds (Michelle Matsumune, Heather Millette and Christin Webb) have played chamber music together for 10 years, performing throughout Southern California and across the country in concert halls, churches, cocktail parties and coffee shops. Equally adept at classical standards, jazz arrangements, and everything in between, Ceora Winds brings the joy of true chamber music to the Los Angeles community.