Bard in Boston

Theatre@First kicks off The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) this Friday. Director Mike Haddad has a new take on the affectionate parody of the Bard oeuvre, fielding a cast of eight of the funniest actors in the Boston theatre scene. Performances run May 17-June 1 at Unity Somerville.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is a madcap race to perform all of Shakespeare's 37 plays in about 90 minutes. The Reduced Shakespeare Company, an ensemble of eight committed actors, will stop at nothing to achieve this feat... even if it kills them. (And a third of his plays were tragedies, so death is likely.) It's fast-paced fun for Shakespeare nerds and everyone who loves a laugh.

Performances
Friday, May 17, 2019 at 8pm
Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 8pm
Thursday, May 23, 2019 at 8pm
Friday, May 24, 2019 at 8pm
Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 8pm
Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 8pm
Friday, May 31, 2019 at 8pm
Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 3pm (matinee!)

For tickets and more information, please visit our website!

Theatre@First will hold auditions, by appointment only, for The Revenger's Tragedy, a cynical satire of the revenge tragedies popular in the Jacobean era, including those of William Shakespeare. Directed by Mary Parker (The Knight of the Burning Pestle, The Spanish Tragedy, R.U.R.) this production will be set amidst a failing circus in the 1940s.

AUDITIONS: Monday, May 20th and Tuesday, May 21st, 7-10pm

PERFORMANCES: September 13 - 22 at Unity Somerville

For more information and to schedule your audition, please visit our website.

The mission of Theatre@First is to work together to provide a fun, friendly, and creative theater experience for cast, crew, and audience alike. We welcome volunteers at all levels, without regard to race, color, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, national origin, body type, age or disability. We encourage a supportive environment in which to work, play, grow, and explore new areas of the theatre arts. We offer affordable and eclectic performances to the community, aiming to surprise, delight, entertain, and educate our audiences.

​​What ​are ​you doing for Shakespeare's Birthday?

​Theatre@First is throwing The Bard a birthday bash, and you're invited!

Enjoy scenes and monologues from Shakespeare and Shakespeare-adjacent works, play some trivia, and enter our raffle for great prizes.

​Space is limited, so whether you're ready to take the stage, or just want to applaud and celebrate together, please register here: http:​​//bit.ly/2FiNtnl

ONE NIGHT ONLY! Tuesday, Apri 23, 2019, at 8pm
Microcinema at the Somerville Theater, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144

Tickets at the door--$10 CASH ONLY!

For more information, or to join our mailing list, please visit theatreatfirst.org.

Update: There's now a second production of Exit, Pursued Bare: A Shakespearean Burlesque & Variety Spectacular. The Friday, January 19 one is new and has lots of remaining seats (while the January 21 show is now SRO)!

At Oberon in Cambridge on January 19 and 21, 2018.

The description from the website:

"A Shakespearean burlesque & variety spectacular

Shakespeare and burlesque? Such a mad marriage was never had before! This show is such stuff as dreams are made on: a burlesque and variety spectacular featuring dance, circus arts, music, spoken word, and more, in celebration of the works of William Shakespeare. Behold the Bard's most beloved lords, lovers, sprites and scoundrels in a fashion you've never witnessed before.

Self-love, my liege, is not so vile as sin as self-neglecting... so get your tickets now!"

Exit, Pursued Bare: A Shakespearean Burlesque & Variety Spectacular

At Oberon in Cambridge on January 21, 2018.

The description from the website:

"A Shakespearean burlesque & variety spectacular

Shakespeare and burlesque? Such a mad marriage was never had before! This show is such stuff as dreams are made on: a burlesque and variety spectacular featuring dance, circus arts, music, spoken word, and more, in celebration of the works of William Shakespeare. Behold the Bard's most beloved lords, lovers, sprites and scoundrels in a fashion you've never witnessed before.

Self-love, my liege, is not so vile as sin as self-neglecting... so get your tickets now!"

Theatre@First is excited to present

LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST (IN SPACE)!
written by William Shakespeare
directed by Hatem Adell

Ferdinand of Space Station Navarre and his friends vow to avoid all terrestrial pleasures to pursue a life of study for the next three years, but when the Princess of Aquitaine and her ladies arrive at Space Station Navarre the previously made oaths prove impossible to keep.

Come drown your sorrows in synthehol and let the Bard's delightful comedy carry you to another world!

PERFORMANCES AT 8PM
Fri 11 Nov
Sat 12 Nov
Sun 13 Nov
Thu 17 Nov
Fri 18 Nov
AND Sat 19 Nov AT 4PM!

UNITY SOMERVILLE
6 William Street at College Ave

TICKETS
Adults $15
Students/Seniors $12

A Palpable Hit
Shakespeare’s Best Fight Scenes

The Gunpowder Plot is a conspiracy of some of Boston’s top fight directors and combat actors. We present a rowdy showcase of the best fights in Shakespeare’s plays: funny, tragic, brutal, fierce. This piece explores the world of meaning in the stage direction “they fight.”

Check out our website http://www.apalpablehit.com, complete with web pages on each scene with full text, illustrations, secondary sources and video.

Swordplay, slapstick, assassination, and freestyle fighting will leave audiences wanting more. Scenes include-

Hamlet vs. Laertes
Tybalt vs. Romeo vs. Mercutio
Viola vs. Sir Andrew
Petruchio vs. Katharina
Lady Anne vs. Richard
Young Siward vs. MacBeth
Banquo & Fleance vs. Murderers
Orlando vs. Charles the Wrestler
Murderers vs. Duke of Clarence
Hermia vs. Helena
Young Siward vs. MacBeth
Joan of Arc vs. King of France


A Palpable Hit runs Wednesdays-Sundays at the Durrell Theater
(at the Cambridge YMCA, 820 Massachusetts Ave. in Central Square, Cambridge)
from November 25-December 11, 2016.
Shows on Wednesday-Saturday are at 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 4:00 pm.
Special industry night show on Monday, November 28th at 8:00 pm.
Tickets $25-40 with Gold Star discounts available

Thomas Kidd's classic revenge play is considered one of the sources Shakespeare used as inspiration for Hamlet. It's got a Prince, a Ghost, and a Girlfriend and even more Mayhem! Don't miss it!

THE SPANISH TRAGEDY
by Thomas Kidd
directed by Mary Parker

The battlefields of Spain are a walk in the park in this fast-paced take on Thomas Kidd's funny, gory, tragic story of a Ghost, a Girlfriend, a Portuguese Prince, and the Spirit of Revenge! Join Theatre@First and Director Mary Parker for a fantastic evening of free theatre in Nathan Tufts Park.

PERFORMANCES at 7PM
Thursday 18 August
Friday 19 August
Saturday 20 August
Thursday 25 August
Friday 26 August
Saturday 27 August

Nathan Tufts Park, 850 Broadway, Somerville 02144
Rain Dates: Sunday 21 August and Sunday 28 August

Visit our website for more information!

Theatre@First is excited to announce our November show: Love's Labour's Lost (in Space)! Sign-ups are now open to audition on Monday, Aug 29 or Thursday, Sept 1 at Unity Somerville.

Are you a fan of the Bard, or of classic sci-fi tv? Actors are welcome to read for any role regardless of gender. Actors of color are strongly encouraged to audition.

In Love's Labour's Lost (in Space), Ferdinand of Space Station Navarre and his friends vow to avoid all terrestrial pleasures to pursue a life of study for the next three years. But when the spaceship of the Princess of Aquitaine and her ladies arrives, those oaths prove impossible to keep. Faithful to Shakespeare's text, our production will focus on the fantastic comedy of the script, while playing with the possibilities of setting the Bard in the vast beyond.

Mark your calendar now for our performances at Unity Somerville on Nov 11-18!

Visit our website for more information!

I saw a flyer today advertising that Merely Players is doing free outdoor As You Like It in Cambridge parks in late August.

Longfellow Park (Aug 18-21) and Danehy Park (Aug 25-28) [maps here]

Thurs-Sat 7pm
Sun 5pm

(The shows will be free, but their website indicates that they're currently fundraising if you wanna throw some dollars their way or help with advertising.)