Shakespeare for young audiences at the Impact Theater

tuckaberry

Tuckaberry Productions

In association with C.A.G.E Theatre and the Impact theater

Presents
William Shakespeare’s

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

New adaptation sets Shakespearean comedy in a New York high school and its environs
December 6-15, 2007

------
“Skip the expensive Disney musicals and head to Brooklyn!”
--Broadwayworld.com

“Magic…Enticing”--The New York Daily News

Brooklyn, New York – January 15, 2007 – ages 8 and up—Brooklyn-based children’s theater company Tuckaberry Productions will produce a new 90-minute original-text adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (adapted and directed by Michael Hagins) set in an upstate New York high school and its environs. In this family-friendly original-text adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic, it's graduation time at Athena High, where four senior students are caught in a love quadrangle with one another – and in a power struggle with their dictatorial teachers and parents. Fed up with having their lives run by adults, they forgo caps and gowns and take to the woods in an act of impetuous youth. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (www.tuckaberry.com) will be performed at the Impact Theater in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, on the following dates:
December 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15 at 8:00 PM
December 8, 9, 15 at 2:00 PM
The Impact Theater; 190 Underhill Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Close to (2/3) Grand Army Plaza and (Q) 7th Avenue Stops

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under, FREE for children 3 and under. Group rates are available upon inquiry. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.tuckaberry.com. To reserve seats or to inquire about group rates, please email [email protected], or call 845-797-1320. For more information (including a map to the theatre), please visit www.tuckaberry.com.

“…Better than most ‘family theatre’ on Broadway” (Broadwayworld.com)
In this family-friendly original-text adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic, it's graduation time at Athena High, where four senior students are caught in a love quadrangle with one another – and in a power struggle with their dictatorial teachers and parents. Fed up with having their lives run by adults, they forgo caps and gowns and take to the woods in an act of impetuous youth. Meanwhile, back at the school, the Athenian Drama Club prepares to present its final production before the year's end. An emergency rehearsal takes the players to these same woods where, unbeknownst to the school's occupants, a mysterious and mischievous bunch of fairy folk await the arrival of something (or someone) fun to play with. These creatures happily resort to manipulation, transfiguration, and even the kidnapping of a helpless exchange student to satisfy their mystical whims. The young mortals adventure through the forest but eventually find themselves back at school, having learned a thing or two about the price of independence and the power of imagination.

What’s Next
A Very Tuckaberry Christmas, Tuckaberry’s holiday cabaret will run at the Impact Theater from December 20-22. In the spring of 2008, Tuckaberry will mount an original musical based on Aesop’s Fables, called Aesop’s Foibles. In addition to performing regular weekend shows, Tuckaberry is reaching out to local schools and venues to bring the musical on a mini-tour around the NY Metro area.

About Tuckaberry Productions
Founded in 2005, Tuckaberry Productions is a Brooklyn-based company whose objective is to present high-quality, intelligent, and entertaining theatre to children and their families. “Children’s theatre,” co-artistic director Dianna Tucker says, “should meet the same expectations as adult theatre; the script should be engaging, the acting should be exciting, and the story should be timeless.” Co-artistic director Adam Baritot adds, “We strive to honor the inherent intelligence in children by presenting material that stretches their imagination while offering high-quality entertainment to adults. Tuckaberry shows should entertain and inspire anyone who delights in live theater, compelling characters, pr comic pratfalls.”

A common theme in all Tuckaberry’s productions is the importance of helping others. Practicing what they preach, Tuckaberry Productions has begun to partner with other nonprofits to raise donations and awareness for service organizations in our community. In addition to performing regularly at Brooklyn street fairs and fundraisers, at each production of Kip, the Enchanted Cat (2006), the actors held raffles to raise money for Animal Care and Control, the organization responsible for New York City’s municipal animal shelter system.

Tuckaberry Productions is a not-for-profit organization and a member of A.R.T./NY and Materials for the Arts.

About the Impact Theater
The Impact is a 42-seat blackbox theatre located at 190 Underhill Avenue in Brooklyn, NY, two blocks from the Brooklyn Public Library and Grand Army Plaza, convenient to the 2, 3 (Brooklyn Museum or Grand Army Plaza) and Q (7th Ave) trains.