For Immediate Release
May 1, 2013
Shakespeare at Notre Dame announces
2013 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival
Notre Dame – Shakespeare at Notre Dame has announced the 2013 Notre Dame
Shakespeare Festival (NDSF), running July 20 through September 20, 2013. The Festival is
highlighted by the Professional Company’s production of Richard III, directed by Laura
Gordon. The Young Company will present The Comedy of Errors at outdoor spaces
throughout the Michiana region. The Festival opens with performances of ShakeScenes at
the Leighton Concert Hall on July 20 & 21, 2013. For the first time this year, Actors From
The London Stage will be included as part of the festival. AFTLS will present Othello from
September 18-20, 2013.
William Shakespeare’s enduring portrayal of England’s most famous villain, a twisted and
ruthless monarch. The recent discovery of King Richard’s remains by archeologists means
there is no better time to see why the “winter of our discontent” turns into a “glorious
summer” at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival. Michael Gotch will play the title character,
and in a play with some of Shakespeare’s strongest women’s roles, a trio of the finest actors
from Chicago - Barbara Robertson as Queen Margaret, Elizabeth Ledo as Lady Anne and
Maureen Gallagher as the Dutchess of York will headline the cast. Richard III will be
presented August 20 through September 1 at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo
Performing Arts Center. Tickets range from $10 - $75 and are on sale through the DeBartolo
Box Office. This year, children ages 6 – 17 are free with paid adult tickets.
(continued)
2013 Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival – continued
Kevin Asselin returns to direct the Young Company’s production of The Comedy of Errors.
The play will be performed free of charge in communities throughout Northern Indiana and
Southwest Michigan. The Young Company is comprised of students from the University of
Notre Dame, St. Mary’s College, and other colleges and universities from across the country.
The “tour” begins Sunday, July 21, 2013 at 7 pm at the Lincoln Township Public Library in
Stevensville, Michigan. Other performances include:
Saturday, July 27, 7 pm – Potawatomi Park Pavilion, South Bend, Indiana
Sunday, July 28, 7 pm – Centennial Park, Plymouth, Indiana
Saturday, August 3, 6:30 pm – Dewey Cannon Park, Three Oaks, Michigan
Saturday, August 4, 7 pm – Battell Park, Mishawaka, Indiana
Saturday, August 10, 7 pm – Wellfield Botanic Garden, Elkhart, Indiana
Sunday, August 11, 6:30 pm (Central Time) –Centennial Park, Munster, Indiana
Monday, August 26, 7 pm – ND Main Building, Notre Dame, Indiana
Over the course of one weekend, dozens of actors from throughout the community take to
the stage in ShakeScenes at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s beautiful Leighton
Concert Hall. Two different performances, each offering a series of 10-minute scenes,
comprise this free event. Performances are at 2 pm on Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21
on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
Shakespeare has no greater hero than Othello, from which lofty height---no character has
further to fall. Set in Venice and Cyprus, Othello is a moving, sexy and ultimately tragic tale
of betrayal and vengeance. Five actors from London’s greatest stages take on Shakespeare’s
heartrending, sexy and ultimately tragic tale of Othello, September 18-20 at Washington
Hall.
Begun in 2000, the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival is part of Shakespeare at Notre Dame,
a program of the University of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters. The Notre Dame
Shakespeare Festival produces professional productions of William Shakespeare’s plays that
involve Equity actors and world-class directors and designers.
Tickets for the entire festival will go on sale April 26, 2013 at Noon at the DeBartolo
Performing Arts Center Ticket office, by phone at 574-631-2800, and on the web at
shakespeare.nd.edu.
# # #
Note: Interviews and photos are available. Please contact Chuck Gessert at cgessert@nd.edu.