Empty Chair Theatre Company Presents: Richard II and A Midsummer Night's Dream

Online, July 1, 2010 (Newswire.com) - ARLINGTON, VA - The Empty Chair Theatre Company is proud to present the two final productions of its fourth season. The company, which is drawn from a national pool of 15-25 year old enthusiasts of Shakespeare, invite you to delve into the dual worlds of William Shakespeare's powerful historical drama Richard II, and his beloved comedy of love and mischief, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Both are running in repertory at the H-B Woodlawn Program Mainstage Theatre in Arlington, VA in July.

Richard II explores the fall of an English king and the rise of the man who deposed him. Director Natasha Solomon's intimately staged interpretation of this lyrical history creates a mature, high-intensity production that blends the subtlety of Shakespeare's drama and the constancy of his themes.

Directed by Empty Chair's artistic director and co-founder Elizabeth Nearing, A Midsummer Night's Dream embraces and enlivens the joy and magic of a persistent classic. A small cast, a versatile playing space, and the incorporation of Daniel Dobrosielski's "large-scale puppets to portray the magical aspects of the play," have been combined to create a production overflowing with fun and fancy.

Location: H-B Woodlawn Mainstage Theatre
4100 Vacation Lane, Arlington, VA 22207

Dates: A Midsummer Night's Dream will have its preview performance on Wednesday, July 7th and will premiere on Thursday, July 8th with its following performances on July 9th, 10th, 17th, 18th and 22nd. All performances of this production will be at H-B Woodlawn.

Richard II will preview on Wednesday, July 14th and open on Thursday, July 15th with its following performances on July 16th, 24th, 29th, 30th and 31st. All of these performances of this production will be at H-B Woodlawn.
[There will be one special performance of Richard II at Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville, VA on Sunday, July 25th at 3:00 PM.]
Calendar available at www.emptychairtheatre.org

Tickets: $10.00 general admission;
$7.00 for enrolled students under 25;
$5.00 for children under 12 and seniors over 65;

Box office opens one hour before show time.
Advance tickets are available online at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/117472
Online ticket sales for a performance end 10 hours before that day of a show.

NOTE : Richard II is not recommended for patrons under the age of 14.

The Directors

Elizabeth Nearing (A Midsummer Night's Dream) is a rising junior in Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama's directing program. Nearing has directed Shakespeare's Macbeth, Diana Son's Stop Kiss and A.R. Gurney's The Dining Room. In 2007, she co-founded the Empty Chair Theatre Company and helmed each of Empty Chair's nine shows and directed its productions of Richard III and Measure for Measure, as well as Miscalled Simplicity, a performance to benefit Susan G. Komen For The Cure.

Natasha Solomon (Richard II) received a BA in English and Theatre from James Madison University, where she directed Oedipus Rex and Julius Caesar. Her most recent endeavors include two seasons on tour with the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival in productions of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Taming of the Shrew.

About Empty Chair Theatre

Empty Chair Theatre Company was founded in 2007 to provide young artists with unique opportunities to study and perform Shakespeare and other classical theatre in a collaborative, professional context. Inspired by a deep love for art and theatre, we strive to create a community of artists centered on that passion. We celebrate the accessibility of Shakespeare's work, and continually reaffirm its relevance to the here and now. We, in our present youth, look to the brilliant material and tools of the past to create a future full of celebration, understanding and life.

ECTC is supported by charitable contributions together with revenues from its performances, lectures and symposiums. It also offers a Drama Camp in Arlington, VA following the Company's summer performance season. Drama Camp is a two-week program providing elementary and middle school students an exciting experience with Shakespeare in performance. The camp provides workshops, drama games, Shakespeare's World, set painting as well as rehearsal and tech work for an abridged version of a Shakespeare play performed by the campers.