The Public Theater Announces Auditions for Its Tuition-Free Shakespeare Lab 2010

The Public Theater announced today the beginning of its recruitment for The Shakespeare Lab’s 2010 Company.  The theater’s professional actor development program will once again be tuition-free in 2010, building on the success of last year’s session.  The widening of access to the Shakespeare Lab builds on The Public’s long tradition of free Shakespeare in the Park and the theater’s ongoing commitment to building a community of classically trained artists. Shakespeare Lab 2010 will run from June 7 to Aug. 8 and membership is by audition only.

Under the direction of Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein, The Shakespeare Lab immerses a carefully-selected company of professional, mid-career actors in a six-week intensive exploring the rigors, challenges, and joys of performing Shakespeare.  The Shakespeare Lab is a unique opportunity for working American actors in mid-career to hone their craft and expand their classical skills.  It aims to build a strong and diverse collective of classically trained actors which will expand The Public Theater’s community of artists. 

The Lab’s workshops in Shakespearean performance are led by some of the most respected figures in American classical theater training, including Christopher Bayes, Lisa Benevides, Barry Edelstein, Robert Perillo, J. Steven White, Grace Zandarski, Janet Zarish and others.  Guest artists, including eminent members of The Public Theater community and other leading Shakespeareans, will frequently visit the Shakespeare Lab.

The Lab is the cornerstone of a busy summer of Shakespeare-related activity at The Public Theater, including the productions in repertory of The Merchant of Venice and The Winter’s Tale, directed by Daniel Sullivan and Michael Greif, respectively. Two new recently announced programs for teens, A Midsummer Day’s Camp and Shakespeare Spring Break, plus  Shakespeare Lab Jr., a program of free, one-week Shakespeare workshops for New York City schoolchildren and Summer Shake-Up, a one-day celebration of Shakespeare at the Delacorte Theater for New York City schoolchildren and their families, round-out the summer’s activities.

Requirements and other information about Shakespeare Lab 2010 may be found at www.publictheater.org. The Public Theater is at 425 Lafayette St. For more information about Shakespeare Initiative programs, please visit www.publictheater.org.