Theatre Workshop of Owensboro and Owensboro Theatre Alliance are collaborating to bring William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” to the stage beginning this Wednesday.
Kentucky Wesleyan College’s drama professor Nate Gross and Brescia University’s drama professor Amanda Dawson are bringing students from both schools and Owensboro Technical together for this weekend production.
Gross said that the collaboration has made a bigger production possible.
“We’ve been able to cast age-appropriate actors, and have seasoned actors mentoring beginning actors,” he said. “We’ve really taken the best of our combined resources in every way.”
Gross said that he has wanted to direct “King Lear” for awhile, but that all of the elements had not lined up until now.
“I’ve made it my mission to make this Shakespeare people will understand,” Gross said. “Too many people are turned off by Shakespeare because it’s hard to follow.”
Using several methods to accomplish this goal, Gross said the most important is for the actors to understand what they are saying or it will never be communicated the way it was intended to the audience.
“Seems like a given, but I have sat through far too many performances where this was not the case,” Gross said.
The script has also been edited to be shorter and more active, including narration at the beginning and during the production to bring the audience back if they are not understanding.
“We’ve added quite a bit of spectacle, rain with real water, stage blood, sound effects, music, some dancing, and a lot of good old Shakespearean violence,” Gross said. “I’m not going to be able to take it if people are bored with this production.”
With fight scenes choreographed by Wes Bartlett, who also plays Lear’s loyal advisor in this production, and with OCTC’s Julie Ledford, the performance is a true collaborative theatre project.
Performances are Oct. 3, 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. at TWO Empress Theatre.
Tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for students and can be purchased by calling 270-683-5333 or at theatreworkshop.org.
