Montford Park Players holds Montford Moppets summer program for kids

PRESS RELEASE FROM MONTFORD PARK PLAYERS:

Summer Shakespeare for Kids
by Montford Park Players
at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre

Registration open through July 12th, 2016
July 12th-August 21st, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2-6pm
Performances: Aug 19-21 at 6:30pm

Hazel Robinson Amphitheater
92 Gay Street, Asheville, NC

Montford Park Players, an Asheville theatrical tradition, is proud to announce the opening of registration for their popular summer program for kids, 11-18 years old, The Montford Moppets. Over past summers, the young actors have learned, rehearsed and performed William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night, Othello and many others. This year they will be creating a show of their own, based on some of Shakespeare’s greatest scenes. Both the program and the final performance will be held at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater, located at 92 Gay Street in the heart of the Montford region of Asheville. Registration is open until the classes begin on July 12th, with the program running on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 6pm, until the performances begin on August 19th. Participation in the program is only $100 per student, and only $90 for early registration up to June 1st.

Montford Park Players, has been presenting Shakespeare and other classical works to the Asheville community since 1973, and has since grown to be one of Western North Carolina’s most beloved and well-known cultural attractions. They are in the midst of their 2016 season, which is the first in many years that will be presented on a “Pay what you may” basis.

The classes will be taught by Montford director Jeff Catanese, who last created and directed 2015’s acclaimed R&J. He says, “This is a great opportunity for tweens and teens to not only study Shakespeare, but create their own scenes based on the Bard’s. I have found that translating these classic plays gives kids a leg up in reading comprehension and many other facets of the language arts. Plus it gives them a great appreciation for theater itself.”

This summer, the concentration will be on taking some of Shakespeare’s best and most well-known scenes and letting the kids put them in their own words. “Many people don’t know that Shakespeare himself created many different words that we use today and helped shape the English language as we know it,” said Mr. Catanese. “So, allowing young people to use the slang they know best to recreate, say, the ‘To be or not to be’ speech, is actually doing something that Shakespeare would condone.”

At the end of the summer, the students will present their work immediately before Montford Park Players’ production of Measure for Measure on August 19, 20 and 21 at 6:30pm. That show, like all other Montford Park Players’ production will be free to the community.
More information regarding registration can be had by contacting the Montford Park Players Education Director made at montfordparkplayers.org or you can call them at (828) 254-5146.