MONMOUTH — William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” is TAM’s Shakespeare in Maine Communities offering for 2016. “The Tempest” will tour for three weeks to schools and community centers across the state from through Oct. 29 and run for one weekend only in Cumston Hall Oct. 14-16. TAM’s production is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The Shakespeare in Maine Communities tour is also funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission and the Fisher Foundation.

Public performances art set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, and Saturday, Oct. 15, and 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, and Sunday, Oct. 16, at Cumston Hall.

Journey to a unique and fantastical world where spirits roam, reality is elusive, and illusion abounds. After 12 marooned with his daughter Miranda, the deposed Prospero must choose between the desire for power and the freedom that comes with compassion. “The Tempest” investigates individual freedom: our desire to achieve it, our struggle to preserve it, and ultimately, our forgiveness of those who have taken it from us.

Artistic Director Dawn McAndrews selected this play for the 2016 ShakesME tour to offer students an entry point into a dialogue around issues of privilege and class. “While many scholars and critics focus on Shakespeare’s final play as his farewell to the “magic” of theatre and a token of love to his daughter, there is an underlying theme of power and injustice running through the work. Prospero is both usurper and usurped and uses his “privilege” for control and revenge. This moment in our nation’s history where social injustices are a daily occurrence provides the context and backdrop for our production.”

Directed by Dawn McAndrews, The Tempest features Hannah Daly as Miranda, Christopher Holt as Prospero, Oliver Archibald as Ferdinand / Sebastian, Alexandra Linn as Alonso, Heather Irish as Gonzalo / Trinculo, Erica Murphy as Ariel, Michael Dix Thomas as Antonio / Stephano, and Ardarius Blakely as Caliban / Boatswain. Set design by Brian Dudkiewicz, costume design by Elizabeth Rocha, lighting design by Jim Alexander, and sound design by Rew Tippin.

Tickets cost $25, for tickets or booking information call 933-9999 or visit theateratmonmouth.org.

TAM has provided literature-based education programs in schools and community centers since the Theater’s founding. Since 2005, TAM has taken the Bard on the road with Shakespeare in Maine Communities — featuring 60- to 90-minute adaptations of Shakespeare with five to eight actors. The target grade levels for this tour are middle and high schools; previous tours have reached more than 6,000 students annually. For more informatio, visit www.theateratmonmouth.org/education-tours.


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