All the world’s a stage this summer as Enter Stage Right and the city of Port Huron present “Will on the Water” – a one day Shakespeare festival on August 14, 2010.

The event runs from 10:00am to 6:00pm on the north lawn of the Municipal Office Center in downtown Port Huron (McMorran and Merchant Streets).

Elaine Schatzline-Behr, artistic director of Enter Stage Right describes the event as “user friendly Shakespeare”. “We want to give participants a sense of what a summer day would have been like in London in 1599.” Strolling players, a musical consort, and other performers will recreate the world that surrounded Shakespeare’s Globe theater, while on the main Globe stage the acting company will present vignettes from “Romeo and Juliet”, “Macbeth”, “The Taming of the Shrew” and a selection of famous quotes from the Bard in a round robin improvisation. “Few people realize how very many common phrases come straight from Shakespeare. 'I have not slept one wink,' 'Jealousy, the green eyed monster,' and 'to be or not to be' are all his. So are dozens of other quotes that most people will recognize.”

In addition to performances on the Globe stage, a variety of interactive ‘Pageant Wagons’ will give visitors a taste of 16^th century life ranging from sword fighting to dancing. ‘Stalls’ will offer a literal taste of the time period and town criers will proclaim the virtues of area businesses in verse. Since very few people could read at the time, advertising had to be visual and oral.

“We call it ‘user friendly Shakespeare’ because we want to emphasize the fun and vibrancy of his world," says Schatzline-Behr, “remember, he wrote his plays to be performed aloud rather than read in a classroom. His theatre was very popular because it was very entertaining.”

Join the fun as Enter Stage Right brings you the deadly swordfights between Romeo, Tybalt and Mercutio, Petruchio’s hilarious attempt to teach Kate how a woman ‘ought’ to behave, and Macbeth’s creepy encounter with three very Weird Sisters. Globe stage performances occur every half hour with all other activities running throughout the day. Admission is free to all ages.

Event Title: Will on the Water Shakespeare Festival
Community: St. Clair County
Event Start Date: 08.14.2010
Event Start Time: 10:00 AM EST
Building: North Lawn of the Municipal Office Center
Address:
City: Port Huron
State: Michigan
Country: United States
Zip: 48060
Phone: 810-334-6415

Description:

Come visit London, England in the year 1599! Enter Stage Right and the City of Port Huron invite you to Will On The Water, Port Huron's very first Shakespeare Festival. On August 14th all the world will be a stage- or at least all of the lawn north of the Municipal Building. Stroll through the Elizabethan world of activities, food, vendors, and performances for the enjoyment of all ages. Visitwww.enterstageright.org for information