CONWAY, Ark. (May 23, 2013) – Kicking off the seventh season lineup, the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre will present Much Ado About Nothing on the Hendrix Village green, Thursday, June 6 – Saturday 8, and Friday, June 14, and Sunday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Mary Ruth Marotte, executive director of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre and a 1995 Hendrix graduate, became interested in the outdoor space of the Hendrix Village after attending a performance of The Tempest in Rosemary Beach, Fla., with her family. Similarly rendered with retail stores and restaurants surrounding a green space, such outside spaces encourage attendants to bring lawn chairs, a picnic, a blanket, and a readiness to enjoy live theater under the stars, she said
Hendrix junior Ira Grace, a marketing assistant for the theatre, will also act in the company’s children’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Recent magna cum laude graduate Jordan Breckenridge ’13, a double major in theatre and English, remains in the company for his third year in a row. The company has other Hendrix interns working behind the scenes as well, said Marotte
In addition to performances on the Village lawn, this season will run June 6-30 and will also include King Lear, Oliver!, and a children’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to be featured at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas and outside in the Argenta Arts District in North Little Rock.
The two outdoor venues suggest a “pay what you can” admission and are open to the public. Tickets for the remaining productions at Reynolds Performance Hall may be purchased by phone at the Reynolds box office at 866-810-0012. For more information on Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, visit http://arkshakes.com
The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre was founded in 2006 and produces a selection of Shakespeare productions. A major educational force in Arkansas, their mission is to enrich the community by creating professional and accessible productions of Shakespeare and other works that promote educational opportunities, community involvement, and the highest artistic standards.
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country’s best 377 colleges, the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's annual list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.