ABINGTON ART CENTER and PULLEY & BUTTONHOLE THEATRE COMPANY, announce the return of Shakespeare in the Summer with a production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth to be presented August 5, 6, 7 & 8 2019 at 7pm on the lawn of Alverthorpe Manor at the Abington Art Center. The arts organizations are excited to once again bring an opportunity for audiences of all ages to experience the beauty of Shakespeare’s language in the beauty of the great outdoors. Instead of a fixed ticket price this year, the performances this year are “Pay What You Will,” in the hopes that this will encourage more people to give outdoor Shakespeare a try.

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Shakespeare in the Summer works within the Original Practices style of presenting Shakespeare, meant to simulate the way Shakespeare's own company prepared his plays, and rediscover a spontaneity, joy, and immediacy in performance. The show is cast, scripts distributed, and lines are learned without rehearsal. The actors will gather weekly to play games, study the play, learn techniques, and create an ensemble.  As Benjamin Lloyd, Executive Director of Bright Invention says, "we are attempting to imitate the way Shakespeare's actors prepared his plays for performance. It can be scary at first, but brings an unmatched spontaneity to performances." Every performance is a new experience for the audience and the ensemble!

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In addition, local musician Josh Kirwin is creating original music and  Chrissie Leech of JENKINTOWN DANCE ARTS will once again work with a children’s corps to create a dance interlude. Bridget Reilly Beauchamp, Artistic Director of Pulley & Buttonhole says, "we adore collaborating with Chrissie--her ideas are fun and challenging. She encourages the children—and the adults—to have physical fun with Shakespeare!”

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Abington Art Center is looking forward to once again hosting this band of motley players. Beth Lawing, Live Arts Coordinator of AAC says, "this is the sort of thing we love here. Being able to come together with other local arts organizations to give our neighbors a chance to experience something exciting is what we're here for.”

So bring a blanket, a picnic, and some bug spray and get ready to enjoy an evening of spontaneous Shakespeare under the stars!

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