Resonance Ensemble Announces 2011 Season

Resonance Ensemble (Eric Parness, Artistic Director, Rachel Reiner, Managing Director) proudly announces their 2011 season entitled "Where There's a Will" which will include the world premiere of SHAKESPEARE'S SLAVE by Steven Fechter, directed by Eric Parness and H4, William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 & 2, adapted by Michael Chmiel, Allegra Libonati, Michael Nathanson and Brian Silliman, directed By Allegra Libonati. Resonance Ensemble is a Theatre-in-Residence at Theatre Row (410 West 42 Street). Performances will begin May 22, opening on Sunday, May 29, 2011 and will run through June 18, 2011. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased through Ticket Central at 212.279.4200 or at www.ticketcentral.com, for more information please visit www.ResonanceEnsemble.org. Repertory performance schedule is listed below.

Resonance Ensemble is dedicated to producing groups of related theatrical presentations thatresonate across time and culture and confront universal themes and ideas significant to audiences of today. This season's resonating works include a new adaptation of Shakespeare's HENRY IV PART 1&2 and the world premiere of Steven Fechter's SHAKESPEARE'S SLAVE.
SHAKESPEARE'S SLAVE by Steven Fechter Directed By Eric Parness
What if William Shakespeare had never written Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear and all his other later masterpieces? In 1596, Shakespeare had a creative crisis. Broke and bedeviled by self-doubt, he was unable to write the "Henry IV" play commissioned by the Lord Chamberlain. The question of whether "to be or not to be" hung by a thread - until Shakespeare met one of London's first African slaves - who changed his life.

The cast features: Chris Ceraso*, Zack Calhoon*, Lucille Duncan*, Nancy Nagrant*, Romy Nordlinger*, Steven Pounders*, David L. Townsend*, Stewart Walker*, Shaun Bennet Wilson. Creative team includes: Sarah B. Brown (Scenic Design), Mark Richard Caswell (Costume Design), Joe Doran (Lighting Design), Nick Moore (Sound Design/Original Music), Kyle Bridwell (Props Design), Dan Renkin (Fight Choreography).

H4, William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 & 2, adapted By Michael Chmiel, Allegra Libonati, Michael Nathanson and Brian Silliman, directed By Allegra Libonati.

Prince Hal, the future King Henry V, is hiding from his destiny in the darkest, seediest outreaches of society. Hal must learn to adapt to the ways of being a king, or be engulfed by the onslaught of the fierce conspiracy against his father's reign. The production will conjure the ferocious characters and ancient power struggle, framed for a modern, fast-paced, media-driven audience, dancing the lines between Theatre, Television, and Film

The cast features: Dorothy Abrahams, Alice Bahlke, Joie Bauer, Michael Chmiel*, Brian D. Coats*, Joe Jung*, Michael Nathanson*, Jensen Olaya, Steven Pounders*, Timothy McCown Reynolds*, Brian Silliman*. Creative team includes Sarah B. Brown (Scenic Design), Brenda Abbandandolo (Costume Design), Joe Doran (Lighting Design), David Hancock Turner (Sound Design/Original Music), Johnathan Carr (Media Design), Kyle Bridwell (Props Design), and Dan Renkin (Fight Choreography).