Last night, I attended a dress rehearsal/blogger preview of an extraordinary and passionate new production of The Tempest by the theatre company The Tempest Ladies .
The company is comprised of 6 classically trained actresses: Stella Berg, Laura Borgwardt, Julia Giolzetti, Holly Hart, Laura Bess Jernigan, and Jana Stambaugh. Each share the roles, the producing, the direction, the set design, the property management, the press, etc. They told us that it is a completely democractic group - they try out all of each others ideas. They are developing their productions on an educational aspect, and hope to tour their show to schools around the city.
Shakespeare's The Tempest is my favorite Shakepeare. I first saw it when I was in junior high and I've never forgotten the production. I disclosed this to several of the actresses before seeing this run through and they joked back, "No pressure." After seeing what they have done, I'm even more certain that The Tempest remains my favorite.
They have lovingly, cleverly and beautifully crafted a production around the text with a creative bent. Each actress is sharing almost all of the roles.
Even in a rehearsal room at the Network Studios, the piece was magical and I was completely transported.
The official production is on June 2nd at the Players Theatre Loft on The Players Loft at 115 MacDougal Street. They will mount two performances at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. After their 9:00 pm performance, The Tempest Ladies invite the audience to join them for a celebration and reception. Tickets are only $10 each and are available via Brown Paper Tickets.
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