From May 31-June 5, 2016, Shakespeare’s rollicking comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream will entertain audiences in 5 free picnic performances scheduled on downtown Rome’s Town Green.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream boasts new music, songs and dances written expressly for the production. With lyrics by Gail Deschamps and Music by Robert Reed and Seth Turner, the Town Green will become alive with soft rock, country and eclectic music and song. The five free picnic performances are scheduled to run at 8 o’clock nightly from May 31 – June 5, excluding June 3, on the Town Green in front of the Forum.
Sound, lights and live music of guitar, fiddle, keyboards and percussion will underscore the magical play, and a cast of 32 local actors, singers and dancers, including the mischievous Puck and 20 meddlesome fairies and goblins of the forest (played by Rome’s school children) will wreak mischief and havoc on the human world of picnickers and characters.
Admission to the performances are free to the public. Families can bring a blanket and low beach chair to picnic under fairy lights on the Town Green lawn. Audiences are also encouraged to bring their stadium seats for the Forum steps. Those who wish to rent seats at a picnic table are encouraged to place their orders early. Table seating is limited.
“Outdoor Shakespeare is not like going to the theatre; it is an event,” Deschamps said. “Our audience will be able to get up in the middle of the show and buy a drink or snack at The Shakespeare Snack Bar and never miss a moment of the play. You can herald on the hero and boo the villain and you can brush elbows with members of the cast waiting to make their entrances.”
Picnics can be ordered from local restaurants; menus are available on the Rome Shakespeare Festival website, and drinks and snacks can be Purchased from the Shakespeare Snack and Concessions Bar at the RSF Booth. There will be a portrait artist, face painting and live jazz on the Green before the show.
“Rome Shakespeare Festival is a fantastic event for the community of Rome,” says Lisa Smith, Director of the Greater Rome Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “With the development of West Third Street into a strolling part of downtown—art district, cafe’s, shops and the rising Marriott Hotel—we expect Rome Shakespeare Festival on the Town Green to become an integral part of the larger vision for the city.”
Deschamps, who formerly served as artistic director for the Florida Shakespeare Festival, said local families and tourists delight in these outdoor performances and enjoy the opportunity to mingle with the characters before they launch onto the stage.
“We used to perform the Shakespeare plays outside at Villa Vizcaya in Miami, and families would bring their kids, picnic under the stars and enjoy the show alongside visiting tourists,” she said. “Some people would come early just to watch the actors do their warm ups. It was a magical event, very entertaining and very successful.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream on The Town Green
Admission: Free
Picnic Table rental: Reserved in advance: $15.00/ seat
On Day of Performance: $20.00/seat.
For more information: Call: 888 464-3130
www.romeshakespearefestival.com
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