All the world’s a stage and some of the players are coming to Scarborough.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet will be hitting the stage at Scarborough Players this spring, following on the success of A Midsummer Night’s Dream two seasons ago.
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Mounting that classic play was taking a chance at the time, says Marisa King, the director for Romeo and Juliet, who adds people didn’t have much faith in the play at that time.
“A lot of people said to us, ‘This is a bad idea, we don’t think a community theatre should be doing Shakespeare, you’re not going to get any response,'” says King. “There was a heavy cloud over us when we did it, but we had such good performers that it was just a hit.”
King has been acting in theatre for 20 years and this will be her directorial debut. The producers decided Romeo and Juliet could also be a success both financially and artistically, so they are giving it another shot, she says.
“Romeo and Juliet is going to be more challenging because it is a tragedy, there’s not quite such broad comic characters in it,” King says.
But she feels Scarborough Players is ready to take on such a play.
It can bring in new audiences because it is a different type of performance but their patrons will hopefully enjoy watching it as well, she says.
King was impressed by the talent of the cast in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, most of whom were Scarborough residents. She is sure they will find the right people to participate again this time around.
Anyone can call Scarborough Players to book an audition, regardless of age and experience. They start on Nov. 29 and end on Dec. 1.
The hours are from 1 to 10 p.m. King says she is looking to cast 25 people.
“We are ready to find some new people, some young blood, who haven’t had a chance yet,” King says. “With the right direction and the right cast, even someone who is shaky to begin with can really get to a fantastic level.
“We definitely have that in Scarborough.”
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Stefan Budansew, a co-producer for Romeo and Juliet who will also be judging the auditions, says a lot of people are intimidated by Shakespeare’s work but they shouldn’t see the plays as daunting tasks.
“Scarborough Players welcomes taking on another Shakespeare play and I think we’ll have a lot of fun with it,” Budansew says. “This play will show people what a community theatre can do.”
Adult tickets cost $17 while students and seniors pay $14. Student rush tickets, for $10, can be purchased one hour before show time depending on available seats – a student card must be presented.
Although the play runs Apr. 2 to 5, 9 to 11 and 16 to18, tickets can be reserved now.