Performances August 12 – 19

(Chautauqua, NY) Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the co-leadership of Artistic Directors Andrew Borba and Vivienne Benesch, brings its 33rd season to a close with William Shakespeare’sThe Taming of the Shrew directed by Andrew Borba andfeaturing the outstanding talents of its entire 2016 Conservatory company onstage and off to produce this comedy masterpiece. The Taming of the Shrew plays August 12 – 19 on the Bratton Theater stage at the Chautauqua Institution.  Opening night is Saturday, August 13 at 6pm.  Tickets are $35 and are currently on sale.

Embracing themes of cross-dressing and gender roles, this production of The Taming of the Shrew promises to be anything but tame.  Love, power, relationships, and companionship reach raucous heights in CTC’s unbridled new spin on Shakespeare’s comedic battle of the sexes.

“We are in a very dynamic and turbulent time with regard to gender politics,” says Artistic Director Andrew Borba. “But this play deals with a question that Shakespeare himself was dealing with during his time, which is ultimately: What would you do if the shrew was on the other foot?”

The cast includes guest artists Shona Tucker as Baptista, and Julia Gibson as Gremio, as well as a full company of CTC Conservatory actors that includes Anna Tullis as Petruchio, Andrew Richardson as Katerina, Alex Raby as Vincentio, Caroline Siewert as Lucentio, Margaret Odette as Hortensio, Adrianna Mitchell as Tranio, Allison Altman as Biondello, Kathryn Metzger as Grumio, Brittany Bradford as Curtis, Juliana Canfield as a Pedant, Leland Fowler as Bianca, David Samuel as a Widow, Josh Grosso as Tailor, and Edmund Donovan as Haberdasher.

The creative team includes Tom Buderwitz (Set Design), Janet O’Neil (Costume Design), Cecilia Durbin (Lighting Design), Steven Cahill (Sound Design), and Ashley Teague (Assistant Director).

Andrew Borba (Director) Mr. Borba is in his first season as Artistic Director.  He has served eight seasons as CTC’s Associate Artistic Director, and this is his twelfth summer with Chautauqua Theater Company.  This season, in addition to directing The Taming of the Shrew, he is directing the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.  Last summer, Andrew played Editor Webb in Our Town, directed Ellis Island with the CSO in the Amp, and directed David West Read’s Afterlove.  In 2014 Andrew conceived and created the multidisciplinary Inter-Arts work Go West! The Mythology of American Expansion. For CTC he has also directed: The Comedy of Errors, The Philadelphia Story, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Swimming Thru Abu Dhabi by Michael Gaston, and Carve by Molly Smith Metzler. Elsewhere: Hamlet-the First Quarto (Theatre of NOTE) Pictures and citations of that production appear in most the recent Arden and New Cambridge editions, Satisfy Me (The Lillian Theatre); A Song of My Own (Hudson Theatre); Evolution, Skins and Bones, Right to Post-all by Ruth McKee (Chalk Rep); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Juilliard); The Time of Your Life (USC, M.F.A. Program); Yankee Dawg You Die, Gargoyles (NYU Graduate Acting Program).

Shona Tucker (Baptista): Her first season at CTC, Off-Broadway credits include Dark Night, Bright Stars (LaMama, ETC);  From the Mississippi Delta (Circle in the Square); The Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (New York Theater Workshop); The African Company Presents Richard the Third (The Public Theater); Marvin’s Room (Playwrights Horizons); Merry Wives of Windsor (The Pearl Theater); Othello (The Acting Company). Regional production include Love and Information (American Conservatory Theater); Almost Maine, Good People (Half Moon Theater); Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Eclipsed (Yale Repertory Theatre); Tough Titty (Williamstown Theater Festival); Having Our Say (Actors Theatre of Louisville); Omnium Gatherum (Stageworks/Hudson); Anthems (Arena Stage); Constant Star (Hartford Stage); A Night In Tunisia (Alabama Shakespeare Festival). Film work includes “King Cobra,” “Walk The Fish,” “Preaching to the Choir: On the One,” “Alice.” TV appearances include “Lights Out,” “Third Watch,” “New York Undercover,” “Law & Order,” “One Life to Live,” “Trinity.” Awards and Fellowships: Fulbright Scholar, Audelco Award, Schomburg Fellow, Lincoln Center Directors Lab Alum, NYU Directors Lab, Usual Suspect with New York Theatre Workshop. Education and Teaching Credentials: Northwestern University, NYU Graduate Acting Program. Associate Professor of Drama and Director of Theater at Vassar College.   

Julia Gibson (Gremio): Her second season at CTC, performing previously in CTC’s Ariel Sharon Stands at the Temple Mountand Dreams of Theodor Herzl. She has performed in New York at the Roundabout Theatre Company, New York Theatre Workshop, The Public, The Delacorte, Classic Stage Company, Circle in the Square, So Ho Rep. Regionally she has performed at The Long Wharf, The Goodman, George Street Playhouse,and the American Conservatory Theater San Francisco. Her film work includes “Michael Clayton,” “Changing Lanes.” Her TV work includes “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Spin City,” and “One Life to Live.” Julia has also narrated over 150 audiobooks. She is a company member of Playmakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she also teaches acting in the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of North Carolina.

About the Conservatory: The acting conservatory began 30 years ago. Founded by Michael Kahn, grown by Rebecca Guy and now under the leadership of Andrew Borba, the acting conservatory has emerged as the premiere summer training ensemble in the country.

PERFORMANCES are Friday, August 12th at 8:00 PM (Preview); Saturday, August 13 at 6:00 PM (Opening); Sunday, August 14 at 2:15 PM & 8:00 PM; Tuesday, August 16 at 2:15 PM; Wednesday, August 17th at 2:15PM & 8:00PM; Thursday, August 18th at 4:00 PM; Friday, August 19th at 4:00 PM

Additional events taking place during the run of The Taming of the Shrew include the following three unique opportunities to hear from CTC staff and creatives.  All CTC special events listed below are free with the purchase of a Chautauqua Institution gate pass.  

BROWN BAG: Thursday, August 11th at 12:15 PM

Bring a bag lunch to Bratton Theater and get to know Director Andrew Borba and our cast of Conservatory actors who are bringing this Shakespeare play to life.

‘FORE-PLAY: Sunday, August 14th at 7 PM

Visit Lenna Hall for a special pre-show discussion about The Taming of the Shrew. Enhance your understanding of the play and get a primer on the production with members of the artistic staff.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES TOUR: Monday, August 15th at 1:00 PM

Visit Bratton Theater for a Behind-the-Scenes Tour. Explore the set, costumes, lighting and special effects behind CTC’s production of The Taming of the Shrew.  Tours are guided by CTC’s production leaders and design fellows and last approximately 45 minutes.  All are family friendly.

LOCATION and PARKING INFORMATION  The Taming of the Shrew plays at theBratton Theater located at the Chautauqua Institution.  To get to the Bratton Theater from the Chautauqua Institution Main Gate go down the red brick walkway (Miller).  Once at Bestor Plaza take a left on Pratt.  Then go a few blocks and Bratton Theater will be on the left. For additional directions visit www.ctcompany.org.  For parking information visit www.chqtickets.com.

Entering its 33rd Season, Chautauqua Theater Company is the resident professional theater and Conservatory of the Chautauqua Institution. Internationally known actors, directors, designers, and writers join 20 emerging artists drawn from the nation’s top training programs to form a unique company that produces a vibrant summer of work in the historic Bratton Theater. Dedicated to the next generation of theater artists, the development of new work, first-rate productions of modern and contemporary classics, and fresh insight into Shakespeare’s canon, CTC produces the best of a year-round regional theater within an eight week summer season.

The pre-eminent expression of lifelong learning in the United States, Chautauqua Institution is a 140-year-old community on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State that comes alive each summer with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities.