From Enchanted Garden Studios’s 2012 Camp Shakespeare production of “Antony and Cleopatra” Katherine Keating as Cleopatra and Sarah Thorn as Chairman.”
This summer, young actors ages 9 to 17 will be performing “A Midsummer’s Night Dream,” “Hamlet,” “As You Like It,” and five other Shakespeare plays at the Enchanted Garden in Ridgefield.
According to the program director, Clista Townsend, “this enchanting summer experience will not only enhance young people’s understanding of Shakespeare’s language though performance and total immersion in the skills necessary to approach his works, it will also be a lot of fun as they combine stand-up comedy with song and dance and improvisation.”
In each two-week session, participants will learn voice and speech, movement, text study, mask work, clowning, stage combat and more in preparation for a performance of an abridged, but still authentic Shakespeare play — one for ages 9 to 12 and another for 13 to 17.
Ms. Townsend, who teaches theater at Hunter College in Manhattan, will be joined by Chris Smalley, who has co-led the program from the start at the Enchanted Garden, and by two or more assistant teachers, all college seniors majoring in theater.
Auditions or knowledge of Shakespeare are not required. All are welcome. Four two-week sessions run from June 24 through Aug. 23. For more details, visit EnchantedGardenStudios.com, or call 203-431-3350.