EmilyAnn celebrates 20 with first production
The EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens is celebrating its 20th Anniversary! As part of honoring being a member of this loving Wimberley community, they are producing Romeo & Juliet for their Shakespeare Under the Stars production, the same show that was the first show ever to be performed at the EmilyAnn Theatre twenty years ago. This year’s SUS program features 42 junior high and high school students, coming from various towns throughout Central Texas. Join the EmilyAnn Theatre as they hold a BIRTHDAY BASH on opening night of Romeo & Juliet, August 2, 2018.
The EmilyAnn Theatre was founded to provide a permanent home for Shakespeare Under the Stars (SUS). Originally a program of Wimberley High School, Shakespeare Under the Stars has been fully funded and administered by the EmilyAnn Theatre since 1998. This unique Shakespeare Intensive offers students ages 12 - graduating seniors the opportunity to study and perform one of Shakespeare’s plays. Students select an area of technical theatre (set construction, costuming, or lighting) on which to focus. With guidance from the Artistic Director, theatre professionals, and interns, students aid in the design and construction of the costumes and set. When not working on their assigned technical area, students rehearse with the director, working on acting and the understanding of Shakespeare’s plays. Students also attend workshops taught by theatre professionals in topics such as fight choreography, acting, improvisation, and text analysis. The 6-week experience culminates with the production of nine performances of a full-length play.
Because Shakespeare Under the Stars students have designed and built costumes and sets for an array of concepts and time periods, this year the Artistic Director, Bridget Gates, decided to have them design a combination of Elizabethan and modern elements together to honor both the original production performed at the EmilyAnn in 1998 and now how the program has evolved and grown in the last 20 years.
Romeo & Juliet will run Thursday, August 2nd through Saturday, August 11th (with no middle Sunday performance) at 8pm on the Patti S. Harrison Outdoor Mainstage. You can purchase tickets online at www.emilyann.org or at the door.