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Edison Stagelight Players to Perform
Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Edison Community College’s Stagelight Players will commemorate the
400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest, with a
string of performances beginning Friday, April 15, at the Edison
Theater.
In The Tempest, Prospero, a brooding Renaissance magician, is banished
by his brother to a remote island with his young daughter. Stranded, he
awaits the right planetary conjunction to work his magnum opus and gain
his revenge. Aided by his mercurial servant, Ariel, and stymied by the
brutish monster, Caliban, Prospero is a man on a mission.
“We decided to do The Tempest for a couple of reasons,” said director
Matt Beisner. “It differs significantly from Shakespeare’s other works.
It’s more of a blend of comedy, romance, and drama; along with a lot of
dark themes such as revenge, discrimination, and “New World”
Colonization.”
The vast scale of the production led to the most ambitious set design
that the program has ever attempted.
“This is the largest set Edison has ever seen. The thrust (which
extends past the front of the fixed stage) is nearly twice as large as
any we’ve ever built,” said Beisner. “We wanted to create an atmosphere
similar to the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare’s plays were originally
performed. Since it was the last play he ever wrote on his own, I
wanted to perform it in a similar space for which it was originally
written.”
Costumes and music will also play a large part in bringing
Shakespeare’s vision to the Edison stage. Emily Beisner, who plays
Ariel, composed music for some of her character’s songs, bringing a new
feel to fit in with the classical pieces. Anne Vaccaro, who has been
involved with the Edison Theatre program for 10 years, is giving the
traditional Shakespeare period costumes a unique and fresh spin with a
series of new designs.
The cast for The Tempest is made up of both newcomers and current and
former Edison students. Chuck Larkowski, a veteran of numerous theatre
productions in the Dayton area, will play the lead of Prospero.
There are lots of people at Edison who want to see the Theatre Program
succeed, from teachers to the administrative staff,” said Beisner.
“I’ve made it a personal goal to bring a high level of quality to our
productions, so when people who think of great theatre, they think of
Edison. Things are definitely headed in the right direction.”
The Edison Stagelight Players production of The Tempest opens Friday,
April 15 and will run April 16, 17, 22 and 23 with all shows starting
at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for adults are $7, students $5 and seniors $3.
Children under 12 are free. For more information, go online to www.edisonohio.edu.
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