A wild romp through all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 90 minutes!
For what has become an exciting annual tradition, the theatre program at Colorado State University presents this year’s annual Shakespeare at Sunset production, featuring The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). The show runs Thursdays through Sundays, Aug. 21 through Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. in the University Theatre at the University Center for the Arts, located at 1400 Remington St.
Tickets are $8 for CSU students, $8 for youth (under 18), and $18 for the public. Please note that the University Center for the Arts (UCA) ticket office hours have changed. Tickets are available at the ticket office in the UCA lobby 90 minutes prior to any UCA performance and through intermission or online at www.CSUArtsTickets.com. Information about upcoming performances can be found at (970) 491-ARTS (2787). Advance or online purchase is recommended to avoid at-the-door fees.
Free Ticket Offers: CSU students get in free on Ticket Thursdays: Aug. 21, 28, and Sept. 4. Sponsored by the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, members of the public get in free on Ticket Sundays: Aug. 24, 31, and Sept. 7. Free ticket offer space is limited and tickets are available on a first come, first served basis online or at the Ticket Office.
For the past five years, CSU theatre has brought you a new Shakespeare at Sunset production each summer. You’ve seen the likes of Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Comedy of Errors, and more. This year, you can see all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 90 minutes in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).
Directed by new CSU faculty Garrett Ayers, Complete Works is an irreverent, messy, fast-paced romp that served as London’s longest-running comedy, running nine years in the West End at the Criterion Theatre.
CSU’s production boasts two different casts (one all-female, one all-male), both of which will leave you shaking with laughter. How does the show change with the different casts? You’ll have to come to both to find out.
“Every performance will be different,” said Ayers. “That’s the nature of Shakespeare – we know the texts so well, but making it our own, especially in this collective piece, will be what people remember.”
Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) parodies the plays of the beloved bard with all of them being performed (in comically shortened or combined form) by only three actors.
The fourth wall is no object in this performance, with actors speaking directly to the audience, including the involvement of some audience members in the action. With hilarious footnotes and contexts from the original texts, improvisation also plays a key role where deviation from the script and pop culture references are expected.
As the production makes its way through Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, and tragedies with a trio of madcap men (and women) in tights, enjoy the zany, hilarious, wild journey through these classics, including the world record for the shortest-ever performance of Hamlet, clocking in at just about 43 seconds, as well as the fastest performance of Hamlet backwards, at 42 seconds.
“It’s going to be a wild ride,” noted Ayers. “You won’t want to miss it.”
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French.
About Garrett Ayers:
Garrett Ayers has worked for over a decade as a professional actor and director with some of the world’s foremost theatre companies. From 2001-2004 he worked at The Wooster Group in New York City and also trained and was a selection participant in the 2002 workteam selection at The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera, Italy. In 2004, he founded Harlem Theater Project in NYC and over the next two years developed a Harlem-based community outreach program, curated a gallery of multi-cultural Harlem-based visual artists, along with directing four productions for the company. Read more.
The 2014-15 Theatre Schedule Includes:
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
October 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 7:30 p.m.
A Year with Frog and Toad by Robert & Willie Reale
Nightly: December 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 7:30 p.m.
Matinees: December 6, 7, 13, 14, 2 p.m.
Nightly: April 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, May 1, 2, 3, 7:30 p.m.
Matinees: April 25, 26, May 2, 3, 2 p.m.
The University Center for the Arts at Colorado State University provides an enriched venue in which the study and practice of Art, Dance, Music, and Theatre are nurtured and sustained by building the skills and knowledge needed by future generations of arts professionals to become contributors to the essential vitality of our culture and society.
For more information, visit UCA.Colostate.edu.