Jeff Ferree suggested I stop in at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater to sketch the early stages of a set build. Jeff told me the inner structure was like a giant erector set and his description was spot on. A large crew of people had to work as a team to raise the large platform panels into place. It was like a good old fashioned barn raising. Wood planking was ready to be put down on the stage floor. Jeff showed me the blue prints for the set which would become a wild west town. The Scenic Designer is Kat Conley.
The show is a fresh take on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Set in the Wild West and directed by Orlando Shakes Artistic Director Jim Helsinger. “The sweet and amiable Bianca can have her pick of suitors, but only once
her sister, the much less charming Kate, is married off. Fortune-seeking
Petruchio rises to the challenge, but can he tame this fiery-tongued
shrew? Set in the tumultuous Wild West, Shakespeare’s unruly comedy
gallops onto the Margeson Theater stage in a lively, high-energy battle
of the sexes with a couple hell-bent on confusing and outsmarting each
other right up to the play’s unexpected conclusion.”
Mark Your Calendar! The Taming of the Shrew
began September 11 and runs through October 6, 2013 at the John and
Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park. Tickets, priced at
$17-$40, are on sale now at (407) 447-1700. On Thursday September 26 you can stay after the performance for an
informal moderated discussion with the cast and members of the artistic
team. On Sunday October 6th go to the prologue series which starts 30 minutes before the show. An actor will lead the audience through a discussion of the plot, themes and major characters in the production.