The production was created under the auspices of The Continuum Company, a new alumni wing of New York University's Graduate Acting Program under the artistic leadership of Zelda Fichandler in association with the Department of Design for Stage and Film (Susan Hilferty, chair).

This new venture is made up of professional actors who came from NYU'S prestigious training program.

Tempest Tossed features Nadia Bowers, Andre Holland and Shane McRae, and is directed by Jim Calder, faculty member of the Graduate Acting Program at Tisch and a director with a taste for improvisational theatre.

This unique re-imaging of Shakespeare's late-career play was first seen in Florence, Italy, in summer 2007. The actors take the audience "through an imaginative and physically inspired 90-minute rendition of Shakespeare's immortal tale, a feat that usually requires an acting company of 16 or more. The result is a miraculous evening of theatrical wonder for the whole family and a perfect introduction to CSC's own more traditional production of The Tempest starring Mandy Patinkin, which begins previews on Sept. 3," according to CSC.

* "We are thrilled," stated CSC artistic director Brian Kulick, "to help launch this inaugural venture and anticipate that it is the first of many collaborations between CSC and NYU, especially since both institutions share the same literal and aesthetic ZIP-code."

"I want to thank Mary Schmidt Campbell, Dean of Tisch School of the Arts for her support of this collaborative project with Brian Kulick and his Classic Stage Company," stated Fichandler. "I hope it is the first of many, as our artistic goals are so compatible; we are in all ways neighbors. I'm a big fan of this particular piece and committed to the idea of an acting company — The Continuum Company — growing out of our large body of talented alumni who are hungry for the stage. This is an auspicious beginning."

Tempest Tossed will be performed on the following schedule: July 10 at 8 PM, July 11 at 8 PM, July 12 at 11 AM & 8 PM, July 13 at 3 PM, July 17 at 8 PM, July 18 at 8 PM, July 19 at 11 AM & 8 PM and July 20 at 3 PM.

Now in its 40th season as an Off-Broadway theatre, Classic Stage Company is the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre committed to re-imagining the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience.

For further information go to classicstage.org, call (212) 352-3101, or visit the theatre in person at 136 East 13th Street.