Stage Door News
Stage Door News
April 26, 2012. In celebration of the birth date of the world's most popular playwright, Driftwood Theatre proudly announced the 2012 Bard’s Bus Tour this week. For their 18th season, Driftwood Theatre invites audiences to join them for a magical, musical journey into an enchanted forest, where four young lovers and one hapless mechanical fall victim to the whimsies of a mischievous creature armed with a very powerful flower. Driftwood Theatre presents their original, a cappella musical adaptation of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.
The adaptation, first created in 2004 by composers Kevin Fox (Swingle Singers, Juno-nominated ensemble Cadence) and Tom Lillington (Retrocity, Nathaniel Dett Chorale) and director D. Jeremy Smith, is currently being revised and expanded for the new production and marks the culmination of a 10-year collaboration among the creative team to weave a cappella music into Shakespeare’s plays.
Driftwood has spent the past two years securing the funding necessary to further develop the project, which has been made possible thanks to the investment of Creative Roots Partner TD Bank.
The cast includes Driftwood alumnae Steven Burley (15 seasons, Driftwood Theatre) as Oberon, Madeleine Donohue (3 seasons, Driftwood Theatre; All in the Timing, The Dining Room, Down n' Out Productions, Fibber, Raging Dreams, Theatre Gargantua) as Helena, Helen King (2 seasons, Driftwood Theatre; Mrs. Warren's Profession, Theatre Lac Brome; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Centaur) as Quince, and Andrew Scanlon (3 seasons, Driftwood Theatre; Toy Story: The Musical, Disney Creative Ent.; The Full Monty, Theatre Aquarius; The Godot Cycle, Yes Let's Go/Toronto Fringe) as Bottom.
They are joined by new company members Nathan Carroll (The Sound of Music, Citadel; The Book of Esther, Blyth Festival) as Demetrius, Paul Dunn (Hair, Grand Theatre; East of Berlin, Tarragon Theatre; 7 seasons, Stratford Shakespeare Festival) as Puck, Christian Feliciano (Raven Stole the Sky, Red Sky; The Hobbit, Grand Theatre; Sex Tape Project, Fu-Gen) as Lysander, Alexis Gordon (Godspell, Victoria Playhouse Petrolia) as Titania, and Stephanie Seaton (Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Classical Theatre Project; Cabaret, Hart House) as Hermia.
The production will be directed by Driftwood founder and Artistic Director D. Jeremy Smith, with musical direction by Tom Lillington, costume designs by Michelle Bailey (Dora-nominated; Clybourne Park, The Normal Heart, Studio 180; The Red Queen Effect, Seventh Stage; three seasons, Driftwood Theatre), set and props design by Lindsay Anne Black (Dora-nominated; Sia, Cahoots Theatre; Those Who Can't Do, Roshni, Theatre Passe Muraille; My Mother's Lesbian Jewish-Wiccan Wedding, Mirvish Productions; Macbeth, Driftwood Theatre), and movement direction by Clare Preuss (Oil & Water, Artistic Fraud; Macbeth, Driftwood Theatre).
The Bard's Bus Tour will kick off July 12th, 2012 and tour Southern Ontario with PWYC performances until August 19th, 2012.
The Bard's Bus Tour is generously sponsored by Ontario Power Generation. Driftwood gratefully acknowledges the support of The Ontario Arts Council, through their Operating, Touring and Arts Investment Fund granting programs.
A full list of performance dates and locations is available at www.driftwoodtheatre.com.
The Driftwood Theatre Group, founded in 1995, has become Ontario's beloved outdoor summer theatre tradition. Working with the best emerging and established artists today, Driftwood celebrates the work of William Shakespeare through its annual Bard's Bus Tour, touring to parks and heritage sites and focusing on communities with little or no access to professional theatre. 2012 marks the 9th anniversary of the hugely successful Trafalgar 24 in Whitby, Ontario.
Bard's Bus Tour Sponsor: Ontario Power Generation
Creative Roots Partner: TD Bank
Arts Council Supporter: The Ontario Arts Council
2012-04-26
Toronto: Driftwood Theatre announces its 2012 Bard’s bus Tour