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King Lear

For King Lear, Shakespeare takes the fairy tale of the king who divided his kingdom among his three daughters and turns it into a tragic meditation on the possibilities—and extremes—of human experience. Lear’s decision to give up his crown and cede his rights and responsibilities to his children turns his world upside down, and he must make a descent into madness before he can gain the wisdom necessary to embrace the reconciliation and love offered to him. The tale of fathers and daughters is set beside a parallel story of a father—the Earl of Gloucester—and his sons. With that expansion, Shakespeare broadens Lear’s world to make it clear that, in many respects, his fate may be the fate of any man.

The relentlessness of Shakespeare’s focus and King Lear’s tempestuous poetry, shot through with touches of humor and moments of heartrending simplicity, endow the playwith tremendous energy. Capitalizing on that dynamism, Cedar Lane Stage’s production uses the vigorous style and fluid staging that its original Elizabethan audience might have experienced. Leading the stellar cast of local veterans are Louis Pangaro as the King (Lou’s past roles at Cedar Lane include Hamlet, Macbeth, Shylock, and Antony) and Tom Witherspoon as Gloucester. Joining them are Sherry Berg, Kelli Biggs, and Jaki Demarest as Lear’s daughters; Nello DeBlasio and Christopher Tully as Gloucester’s sons; David Dieudonne as the Fool and Dan Guy as Kent; Bret Estey and Jeffrey Wendel as the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall; and David Gorsline, Eric Henry, and Michael Platt as France, Oswald, and Burgundy. Emily Hauff stage manages.

Don’t miss this chance to see one of Shakespeare’s greatest works at family-friendly prices!

Performance  Dates: April 25 and 26, May 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 at 8 PM
and May 4 and 11 at 3 PM

Tickets: $15  (Seniors: $13;  Students: $10;
Groups of five or more students: $5 each;  and Groups of 10 or more adults:  $10 each)

Thurs., May 8: Pay-What-You-Can.

For reservations call: 301-949-3685
Information at  http://www.CedarLaneStage.org
All performances are at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, MD  20814

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Call for Director Proposals for 2009

  Dead Line - TBA

Cedar Lane Stage is soliciting full-length projects for the Spring and Fall of 2007 for production in the main auditorium. Precise dates for the shows will not be scheduled for a bit and are at the discretion of the church. However, the spring show is usually scheduled to begin two weeks after Easter, depending on Easter's date. And in recent years, the fall show has performed over three weekends in October.

Our group prefers to present the classics, including verse drama, and contemporary works with strong social content. A prime objective of ours is to challenge audiences as well as entertain them; as a result, most of our productions have a strong intellectual content that invites reflection. We prefer that performances run no more than three hours (with intermission). Recent shows include Copenhagen , Mary Stuart, A Man For All Seasons, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth. These recent productions have had minimal sets and costumes. See our production history on our web site.

The production will be staged in the main auditorium of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda . In general, we prefer three-quarters or full-round staging using the floor of the auditorium surrounded by seats. The stage itself can also be used, but because of Sunday services, we do not wish to use fixed, proscenium-style sets. The show (including seats and risers) must be struck and reset a minimum of three times during the run in order to accommodate church services. Therefore, the degree of difficulty of strike and reset should be taken into account in your staging concept. Another factor that you should be aware of is that our lighting and sound capability, while adequate, is not extensive.

If you are interested in staging a show at Cedar Lane , send us:

1. a description of possible projects (up to two)
2. the time slot you prefer, if relevant
3. cast size, an idea of the set(s),
4. whatever materials you think would help us to understand the project better; we would particularly like to know how you would present the play, given the constraints of our space.
5. an estimate of props cost, lighting and sound needs (roughly the number of cues)
6. a copy of the script-unless it is a well-known classic and easily available
7. the availability and cost of the rights and scripts. whom to contact regarding rights (including translation rights).
8. a brief resume

We would like to receive proposals by (TBA) and then schedule interviews of directors whose projects are particularly interesting to us at our board meeting in October (usually held at 7 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month). Proposals need not be elaborate, as you will have an opportunity to expand on your concept at the interview

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone. Please e-mail your proposal to me or let me know it is in the mail.

Scripts can be mailed to:

Cedar Lane Stage
c/o CLUUC
9601 Cedar Lane
Bethesda , Maryland 20814

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