ImprovEd Shakespeare is taking William Shakespeare’s As You Like It online. Their upcoming, all-teen theatrical production will be broadcast on Zoom. Faced with social distancing measures, ImprovEd Art’s Director Andee Kinzy gathered her students virtually for weekly rehearsals. All players will be performing from their homes and controlling their entrances and exits as panelists on the webinar. The family-friendly amateur production will be presented on May 9 and May 10 at 7 p.m. CST. Registration is free but limited to 100 attendees. To get a virtual seat, register at http://improvedshakespeare.com. Attendees must have a Zoom account, and are invited to interact with the cast during the Q&A after the performance. Additional attendees can view the livestream on Facebook or they can subscribe to the newsletter to receive a link to the recording, along with a completely different version performed virtually by the Elementary-aged cast.
This version of As You Like It is a humorous production that tells the story of two banished lovers. When the young lady disguises herself as a man and meets her beloved in the forest, wild mishap ensues.
The ImprovEd Shakespeare interpretation is a unique example of youth theatre adjusting for the pandemic, doggedly keeping Austin weird, even when the city is shut down. The adaptation is exclusive to ImprovEd Shakespeare, combining a mix of modern narration and original Shakespearean verse.
ImprovEd Arts is a sponsored project of Austin Creative Alliance. This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
