Midsummer, Y'all: Alabama Grads Bring Shakespeare to FringeNYC Aug. 19

By Kenneth Jones
19 Aug 2009

BAMA Theatre Company, an ensemble of eight University of Alabama MFA students formerly in residence at The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, brings its fresh take on A Midsummer Night's Dream to the New York International Fringe Festival Aug. 19-29 at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village.

This marks the East Coast debut of the loose collective whose members acted together in Montgomery, AL. Actress Alison Frederick told Playbill.com the players are exploring other production ideas for the future, and the group is planning to formalize in the coming year. Most of the players will be based in the New York City area. Other UA alumni will be part of the company in the future, she said.

The core company of eight will play all 22 roles in one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies. The FringeNYC Midsummer staging is billed this way: "Not the fluffy fairy-tale you thought, eight actors magically morph into everything from a caustic duke to a mischievous sprite, all out of one suitcase. This Alabama company takes a breath at the top and doesn't exhale until the curtain comes down, ya'll!"

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This production was originally conceived as a 2007 Acting Lab project during the second year of residency at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. The response of the small, invited audience was overwhelming, the players said.

The cast of eight features Greg Foro (Oberon), making his fourth appearance at FringeNYC, along with Alison Frederick (Hermia), Nathan Lange (Demetrius), Nick Lawson (Lysander), Lauren Anne Martin (Titania), Chris Roe (Puck), Sarah Walker Thornton (Helena) and William Brock (Bottom). Director Peter Macklin (president of the ASF/UA alumni association) is also FringeNYC veteran, most recently performing in The Tempest with The Acting Company. Erik Andrews is the assistant director and Matt Renskers is the company manager.

The Midsummer performance schedule will be Aug. 19 at 7 PM, Aug. 22 at 4 PM, Aug. 25 at 2 PM, Aug. 27 at 6:30 PM, Aug. 29 at 7:15 PM. The Aug. 25 performance will be followed by a talk back with the actors.

Tickets are $15 and available on the FringeNYC web site www.fringenyc.org (listed under FringeHigh) or from the BAMA Theatre Company web site www.BAMATheatrecompany.org.

Visitors may also donate to the company on their web site. The Aug. 19 performance is available to Theatre Development Fund members for only $9 with the "off-off @ $9" program.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream is presented by BAMA Theatre Company in association with the figments productions, a project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.