6 great plays and several returning directors!
We’re so excited to have the following plays and directors for our next season on the THIRD Tuesday of each month happening IN PERSON at the Coronado Public Library.
Thanks to our Readings Coordinator Kevin Manley for reviewing all the submissions and plays, and for selecting our season! At least 4 of these plays we’ve not done in quite some time, and we’re excited to dive into these works with all of you!
Check our calendar for more info and sign up here!
January and February: Henry V, led by Tom Haine
TL;DR (may contain spoilers): Henry becomes king, kills a bunch of his old friends, and conquers the French.
After an insult from the French Dauphin, King Henry V of England invades France to claim the throne he believes should be his. Henry stops an assassination plot, gives powerful speeches, and wins battles against the odds. In the end, he woos and marries the Princess of France, linking the two nations.
Tom Haine has extensive directing credits which include Tartuffe, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth, Hedda Gabler, You Can’t Take It With You, Bury the Dead, Rumors, Dearly Departed, Nunsense and Julius Caesar. He has received formal training in directing from the Berkeley Rep and from Cambridge University in the UK. He has also trained with the Old Globe’s Jonathan McMurtry, Dakin Matthews, and Brendon Fox and with the San Diego Rep’s Todd Salovey and Sam Woodhouse. He is a graduate of the British American Drama Academy Mid-Summer Oxford Program (BADA) in 2010 and practices immigration and criminal law.
March and April: Henry VI Part 1, led by Kim Keeline
TL;DR (may contain spoilers): King Henry is a child, so everyone tries to control him; Plantagenet and Somerset hate each other; after a war, Henry marries a woman he has never met; oh, and Joan of Arc is in it too.
After Henry V’s death and while Henry VI is young, nobles rule England and fight the French, including Joan of Arc. As Henry VI becomes King, the noble houses begin to divide and take sides between York and Lancaster. The war with France winds down, and the nobles try to find Henry a wife and disagree about who Henry chooses.
Kim Keeline is a writer and teacher who fell in love with Shakespeare when she was 12 and her parents took her to a production of Twelfth Night at the Old Globe. She eventually earned her Ph.D. in English Literature, specializing in Shakespeare and his time period. She gives lectures on the history and literature she loves through various groups and otherwise keeps busy. See more about her at kimkeeline.com
May and June: The Taming of the Shrew, led by Juliana Van Riper
TL;DR (may contain spoilers): Katherine doesn’t want to get married; Petruchio marries her and compels her to be obedient; everyone is happy? The end.
Lucentio loves Bianca but cannot court her until her shrewish older sister Katherina marries. The eccentric Petruccio marries the reluctant Katherina and uses a number of tactics to render her an obedient wife. Lucentio marries Bianca and, in a contest at the end, Katherina proves to be the most obedient wife.
Juliana Van Riper has been acting for over 25 years. Her Shakespeare experience includes productions at the Coronado Playhouse directed by the late Keith Anderson. She has played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Jessica in The Merchant of Venice. She started getting involved with Shakespeare in high school and her first director was Patrick McBride, playing Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has been teaching theatre and music the last decade and a half and have directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream twice.
July and August: Coriolanus, led by Mark Petrich
TL;DR (may contain spoilers): Coriolanus hates the people, and they banish him from Rome. Coriolanus loves his mother, and she stops him from attacking Rome. He dies.
Roman general Coriolanus makes his name defeating an enemy army and defending Rome. The Senate nominates him as consul but he cannot win the people’s vote, so he is banished from Rome and allies with his old enemy. He comes to attack Rome, his mother persuades him not to, and his new-found ally kills him for the betrayal.
Mark Petrich has 50 years of close association with the works of Shakespeare and is his first love. As an actor, he appeared in numerous productions, including: Hamlet, MacBeth, King Lear, Romero and Juliet, Richard III, and The Tempest. He also directed MacBeth for Vanguard Theatre with Shakespeare Society founders Tom Haine and Alex Sandy. He was a member of Jonathan McMurtry’s Shakespeare Master Class which explored the canon for eight years. Mark studied at ACT in San Francisco with Dakin Matthews and with David McCellan at the Old Globe.
September and October: The Comedy of Errors, led by Heather LaForge
TL;DR (may contain spoilers): Antiphonus searches for his long lost identical twin brother, Antiphonus, while his servant, Dromio, searches for his long lost identical twin brother, Dromio. Shenanigans ensue.
After both being separated from their twins in a shipwreck, Antipholus and his slave Dromio go to Ephesus to find them. The other set of twins lives in Ephesus, and the new arrivals cause a series of incidents of mistaken identity. At the end, the twins find each other and their parents and resolve all of the problems caused earlier.
Heather LaForge is the Artistic Director for Groundworks Theatre Arts here in San Diego. In 2008, she received her Ph.D. in Theatre from UC San Diego, where she taught theatre history, theory, performance, film, and writing courses and won an Excellence in Teaching Award for her outstanding work. Additionally, she has published in the theatre field and has presented at conferences both in the US and Ireland. Heather has worked with multiple theatre organizations throughout her career as a National Director, Director, Dramaturg, Education Director, Teacher, and more. Her directing experience includes The Laramie Project, Matilda, Tuck Everlasting, All My Sons, Freedom of the City, The Addams Family, A Piece of My Heart and many more. She also works in the Education Department for Broadway Licensing, writing curriculum and educational materials for licensed musicals and plays.
November and December: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, led by Charlie Riendeau
TL;DR (may contain spoilers): Valentine and Proteus are best friends, except Proteus is disloyal to his girlfriend in pursuit of Valentine’s fiance. There’s a dog. Everyone gets married in the end, though.
Two best friends, Proteus and Valentine, travel to Milan where they both fall in love with Silvia. Silvia loves Valentine, but Proteus pursues her despite the fact he has a girlfriend at home. After an apology, Proteus and Valentine reconcile, Proteus loves his girlfriend again, and both couples marry.
Charlie Riendeau has participated in three Old Globe Shakespeare Festivals, several years of their winter seasons, and the first two Old Globe Educational Tours. He has acted in over 100 full productions, directed 25, and has participated in numerous readings for various theaters around the county. He has performed in London and New York and holds a degree in Theatre from SDSU.
As a reminder: we will meet IN PERSON on the THIRD Tuesday of the month.
Check our calendar for more info and sign up here!
Hilarious TL;DR [“too long, didn’t read”] notes and summaries from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Photo Credits (Open Readings): Henry V: Houston Shakespeare Festival, Pin Lim of Forest Photography; Henry V part 1I: Utah Shakespeare Festival, Karl Hugh; Taming of the Shrew: The Old Globe, Jim Cox; Coriolanus: National Theatre, Johan Persson; Comedy of Errors: Bell Shakespeare, 2022, Brett Boardman; Two Gentlemen of Verona: The Old Globe, Jim Cox.
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