I love summer for all the traditional reasons – warm days, long sunlit evenings, fresh berries, and vacation – but another reason I look forward to summer each year is that it is the season of Shakespeare in the Park. Two Seattle theatre companies, Wooden O and GreenStage, tour local parks throughout July and August, each presenting two plays. My husband can attest that I start getting excited about this season each year around March. Why is this so exciting? I love theatre, but attending plays can be pretty expensive. This is my yearly opportunity to see four professionally produced plays for free.
Not sure if you’re a Shakespeare fan? This is a great way to experience Shakespeare for the first time. It’s a no-risk situation, really: the play is free, and you may just discover a new love of theatre and Shakespeare. I got my own first taste of the Bard’s work when, as a fourteen-year-old, I attended Wooden O’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Lynndale Park. As the players enacted this comic fairytale in the amphitheatre, the surrounding trees and deepening dusk added to the story’s enchantment. Since then, I’ve seen at least a dozen plays in local parks. I’ve become a Shakespeare addict.
Over the years, I have invited many friends to join me for these experiences. Some friends were dubious at first, but they wound up being surprised by how much fun Shakespeare can be. Four hundred years have passed since Shakespeare wrote his plays, but the tragedies are still rich with fascinating and believable characters who demonstrate human potential for nobility, as well as corruption. And the comedies still spring to life as actors and directors interpret them and put their own spin on the stories and characters.
Sound interesting to you? If so, I’d like to offer a few tips for getting the most from your Shakespeare in the Park experience:
- Check the schedules on the GreenStage and Wooden O websites. There are lots of options, and if you plan ahead, you can choose a time and place that work best for you.
- Rich language is one of the joys of Shakespeare, but it can be difficult for us twenty-first century Americans to follow. My suggestion: after you’ve decided on a play, check it out from the library. Or buy it used – used copies of Shakespeare plays are abundant and cheap. You can enjoy watching Shakespeare even if you haven’t read the play ahead of time, but I appreciate a performance even more when I’ve read the play recently and the words are fresh in my memory. That way, I’m able to start tracking with the story immediately instead of straining to get used to the language.
- On the day of the play, show up early. Seats fill up fast, and you’ll want to sit close to the stage, because ambient noise (cars on a nearby street or airplanes overhead) can make it harder to hear the actors … and that makes it a bit more difficult to decipher the Elizabethan English.
- When you show up early, bring a picnic. Many of the performances begin at seven. Get there at six, set up some blankets or lawn chairs, and spread out your food. Wine and cheese, or chicken nuggets and Dr. Pepper – whatever suits your fancy.
- Be prepared for weather. This is Seattle, after all. A few years ago I went to see Hamlet at Lynndale. As usual, I got there extra early … and sat in the rain for forty-five minutes. Just as the play was about to begin, the rain stopped. As the final scene was coming to a close and Horatio was making his (actually, in this production it was her) final speech to the audience, drops of rain began to fall again. The actors performed powerfully, and I was glad I was there to see them … and very glad that I had a raincoat and some extra blankets to make the wait in the rain bearable.
- Okay … so I mentioned it was free. And it is, but theatre companies generally don’t make a whole lot of money, so they will be asking for donations at the end of the show. You’re under no obligation, but it’s not a bad idea to have a few bucks handy to drop into the actors’ hats as you leave. It’s a small price to pay for outdoor theatre in your neighborhood, and the actors (being actors) will probably express their gratitude to you dramatically.
That’s it. I hope you’re inspired to check out some Shakespeare and support local theatre. See you in the park!
Posted by Elise 
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