For three decades, Theatre In The Park has dedicated one of its Mainstage production slots to William Shakespeare.  The relationship has proved extremely successful.  Critical reviews have been extremely positive and our audiences have grown.

The Theatre's first production, in 1972, was Hamlet (starring Ira David Wood in the title role).  The modern dress production was staged in an outdoor amphitheatre located in Raleigh - and included  a young David Sedaris as one of the company members.

The prevailing opinion regarding producing Shakespeare in Raleigh was summed up by an opinion expressed to David Wood during rehearsals for the show:  "No one in Raleigh will cross the street to see Shakespeare."

Six thousand people proved that opinion wrong.  The show was so successful that its run was extended for three additional performances.  The next season's offering, Richard III, played to six thousand people on opening night!  The following year, TIP introduced its enthusiastic audience to Romeo & Juliet - with soon-to-be Broadway star, Terry Mann performing the role of Tybalt.

Over the decades, Theatre In The Park has staged many Shakespearean productions - indoors and out - to thousands of appreciative audience members.  Some of the productions have been presented in modern dress.  Others have been staged in the style of the period.  Whatever the approach, all of the productions have been feasts for the eyes and ears of our audiences.

Classes and workshops have also been added during the summer months in order to train aspiring performers in stage combat, interpreting Shakespeare, as well as period style movement.

Our 2004-2005 highly acclaimed Mainstage production, THE MAN FROM STRATFORD, consisted of scenes from some of the Bard's greatest works performed by a cast of a dozen young and talented actors.  These young people will also took part in summer classes and workshops designed to improve their skills in classical theatre performance.   Teachers, stage combat choreographers and assistant directors included David Henderson, Tony Pender, Steve Larson, Adrienne Pender, Shawn Larson and Ira David Wood III.  The project was offered free of charge to selected participants.

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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)
Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet. He is generally considered the greatest dramatist the world has ever known and the finest poet who has written in the English language. Shakespeare has also been the world's most popular author. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries.

Many reasons can be given for Shakespeare's broad appeal. But his fame basically rests on his understanding of human nature. Shakespeare understood people as few other artists have. He could see in a specific dramatic situation the qualities that relate to all human beings. He could thus create characters that have meaning beyond the time and place of his plays. Yet his characters are not symbolic figures. They are remarkably individual human beings. They struggle just as people do in real life, sometimes successfully and sometimes with painful and tragic failure.

Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays, which have traditionally been divided into comedies, histories, and tragedies. These plays contain vivid characters of all types and from many walks of life. Kings, pickpockets, drunkards, generals, hired killers, shepherds, and philosophers all mingle in Shakespeare's works.

In addition to his deep understanding of human nature, Shakespeare had knowledge in a wide variety of other subjects. These subjects include music, the law, the Bible, military science, the stage, art, politics, the sea, history, hunting, woodcraft, and sports. Yet as far as scholars know, Shakespeare had no professional experience in any field except the theater.

Shakespeare was born to what today would be called middle-class parents. His birthplace was the small market town of Stratford-upon-Avon. Shortly after he married at the age of 18, Shakespeare apparently left Stratford to seek his fortune in the theatrical world of London. Within a few years, he had become one of the city's leading actors and playwrights. By 1612, when he seems to have partially retired to Stratford, Shakespeare had become England's most popular playwright.

Shakespeare has had enormous influence on culture throughout the world. His works have helped shape the literature of all English-speaking countries and of such countries as Germany and Russia. Shakespeare also contributed greatly to the development of the English language. He freely experimented with grammar and vocabulary and so helped prevent literary English from becoming fixed and artificial.

Shakespeare's influence on language has not been limited to writers and scholars. Many words and phrases from Shakespeare's plays and poems have become part of our everyday speech. They are used by millions of people who are unaware that Shakespeare created them. For example, Shakespeare originated such familiar phrases as fair play, a foregone conclusion, catch cold, and disgraceful conduct. As far as scholars can tell, Shakespeare also invented such common words as assassination, bump, eventful, and lonely.

Many people can identify lines and passages as Shakespeare's even though they have never seen or read one of his plays. Examples include "To be, or not to be," "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears," and "A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!"

Shakespeare's genius as a poet enabled him to express an idea both briefly and colorfully. In his tragedy Othello, for example, he described jealousy as "the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on." In the tragedy King Lear, Shakespeare described a daughter's ingratitude toward her father as "sharper than a serpent's tooth."

Besides influencing language and literature, Shakespeare has affected other aspects of culture in the English-speaking world. His plays and poems have long been a required part of a liberal education. As a result, Shakespeare's ideas on such subjects as heroism, romantic love, and the nature of tragedy have helped shape the attitudes of millions of people. His brilliant portrayals of historical figures and events have also influenced our thinking. For example, many people visualize Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Cleopatra as Shakespeare portrayed them, not as they have been described in history books.

Even historians themselves have been influenced by Shakespeare's greatness. Shakespeare lived in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a period known as the Elizabethan Age. Historians consider the Elizabethan Age as a peak of English culture. But one can question whether the period would seem so important if Shakespeare had not lived and worked in it.

Shakespeare's widespread influence reflects his astonishing popularity. His plays have been a vital part of the theater in the Western world since they were written more than 300 years ago. Through the years, most serious actors and actresses have considered the major roles of Shakespeare to be the supreme test of their art.

Shakespeare's plays have attracted large audiences in big, sophisticated cities and in small, rural towns. His works have been performed on the frontiers of Australia and New Zealand. They were part of the cultural life of the American Colonies and provided entertainment in the mining camps of the Old West. Today, there are theaters in England, the United States, and Canada dedicated to staging some of Shakespeare's works yearly.

Shakespeare's plays appeal to readers as well as to theatergoers. His plays—and his poems—have been reprinted and translated countless times. Indeed, a publishing industry flourishes around Shakespeare, as critics and scholars examine every aspect of the man, his writings, and his influence. Each year, hundred of books and articles appear on Shakespearean subjects. Thousands of scholars from all over the world gather in dozens of meetings annually to discuss topics related to Shakespeare. Special libraries and library collections focus upon Shakespeare. Numerous motion pictures have been made of his plays. Composers have written operas, musical comedies, and instrumental works based on his stories and characters.

The world has admired and respected many great writers. But only Shakespeare has generated such varied and continuing interest—and such constant affection.

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