Tag Archives: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

(Wellington, Fla.)— Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC) of Ohio was named the grand prize winner Jan. 31 of the LED Source® LEDko Challenge, and will receive a complete LED lighting makeover worth $20,000. CSC was chosen among dozens of staging, education, studio, installation, and theater professionals throughout North America who participated in the contest by submitting a video of their lackluster lighting systems to be considered for a complete LED lighting upgrade. As the grand prize winner, CSC—which employs a resident ensemble of actors that put on nine main stage productions seen by more than 25,000 audience members each year—will have their aging, energy-draining stage lighting replaced with eight Reflection LEDko fixtures by Coemar, the sponsor of the contest.

The LEDko Challenge, which launched in October 2011, was created by LED Source in celebration of the launch of the new Reflection LEDko series by Italy-based Coemar—a world leader in lighting for the entertainment industry. As the exclusive distributor of Coemar LED products in North America, LED Source wanted to get the word out about the launch and award a deserving organization with the latest in LED profile technology.

“Although we received several outstanding video submissions, the group at CSC went above and beyond,” says Marcel Fairbairn, president and CEO of LED Source. “We can’t wait to deliver the new Reflection LEDko fixtures this month and show what a difference the right lighting can make in this setting.”

CSC was chosen as the winner among the top five finalists for their submission of a creative and humorous video demonstrating their “ancient” lighting system, which theater employees said often caused blackouts and delays during rehearsals and performances.

“Our current lights are basically the SUV’s of the lighting world,” said Brian Phillips, producing artistic director of the CSC. “We are so grateful for this opportunity, as it will change our lives and our art in a profound and meaningful way. The unique challenges of our theater space make CSC, LED Source and Coemar a perfect fit.”

Finalists were selected by a panel of experts made up of both LED Source and Coemar senior management, and the grand prize winner was chosen by fans on the Reflection LEDko Facebook page through a voting process. As the contest winner, power outages and outdated stage lighting will be a thing of the past for CSC, which has been producing classic Shakespeare performances since 1993 and educates more than 20,000 theater students annually through its educational outreach programs. LED lighting will allow CSC, which produces classic multi-scene adventure plays, to seamlessly transition from a battle scene to a banquet in the blink of an eye.

Reflection LEDko is a revolutionary new LED fixture and the first LED profile delivering both Soft Profile and Hard Edge Profile using mix and match optics. With this new technology, Coemar has created the first LED profile capable of projecting soft-edged profile light that can be used in the same way as traditional profiles and can obtain any color tone, shade and white light.

Applying the Reflection LED technology as a retrofit makes it possible to reduce energy consumption from 500-650 Watts to 150 Watts. The LED lamps last up to 50,000 hours without loss of brightness, thus eliminating maintenance costs associated with traditional profiles.

Because LEDs do not emit heat, Reflection LEDko is capable of utilizing images or gobos created with any standard printer and a transparency sheet. This technology allows users to project any image quickly and without cost, while also eliminating the entire gobo buying process, which was previously dependant on glass or metal patterns.

Reflection LEDko is one fixture that can virtually eliminate or significantly reduce all costs related to lamps, dimmers, scrollers, gel filters, heat, cabling, electricity and manpower. All LEDko series fixtures feature electronic 16-bit dimming, flicker-free operation with DMX controllable LED frequency from 500 to 5000 Hz and a bi-directional DMX512.

“We are thrilled to be able to provide the CSC with the revolutionary Reflection LEDko LED profile fixtures, which enhance the stage experience by providing an energy and space-efficient lighting solution,” said Fausto Orsatti, vice president of sales and marketing at Coemar. “LED lighting will allow for more lighting versatility and no dimmers, resulting in a more streamlined stage production.”

The Reflection LEDko fixtures will debut on the CSC stage in time for either the late winter production of “Sense and Sensibility” or an early spring performance of “The Grapes of Wrath”. This is CSC’s first lighting upgrade in five years.

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About LED Source®:
Founded in August 2005 by Marcel Fairbairn, LED Source® is a national and international supplier of LED lighting that specializes in full-scale evaluations and retrofits through its Retrofit Division, in addition to providing consultation all the way through to supply on new projects within their Architectural and Entertainment Divisions. Additionally, the company launched a franchise program in October 2009 and expects to have a network of 150 franchise offices throughout North America within three years. For more information, please visit http://www.ledsource.com or the company’s blog at http://getleducated.wordpress.com

About Coemar:
Established in 1933 and based in Castel Goffredo, Italy, Coemar Spa is a world leader in lighting for the entertainment industry. The company also develops, manufactures and sells its products for architectural and commercial applications and guarantees pre-sale and after-sales services. At an international level, the company operates in five continents with a network of over 50 distributors. http://www.coemar.com

About Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages. Located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, CSC produces eight main stage productions each season at its home on Race Street. CSC employs a resident company of actors and artists who live and work in Cincinnati year-round, and performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity Association. CSC’s current season is generously sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company receives operating support from The Ohio Arts Council and is supported, in part, by the generosity of thousands of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave, formerly the Fine Arts Fund. The season design sponsor is Judge Mark Painter. Creative Services are provided by Possible Worldwide. CSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible. For more information visit http://www.cincyshakes.com

CSC’s Lighting Contest Entry Video

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to present the regional premiere of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” adapted by Jon Jory, on February 17- March 18th

Sara Clark as Marianne Dashwood, Giles Davies as Colonel Brandon, Kelly Mengelkoch as Elinor Dashwood & Brent Vimtrup as Edward Ferrars. Photo by Jeanna Vella.

CINCINNATI, January 27, 2012— Opening February 17, 2012, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to present the regional premiere of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” adapted by Jon Jory. Cincinnati audiences delighted in last season’s production of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” leading to a sold out run. CSC is pleased to be able to offer Jane Austen again this season in this new adaption of another one of her beloved stories, “Sense & Sensibility”. This production is directed by Drew Fracher and will run until March 18th. “Sense and Sensibility” is generously sponsored by LPK, the ensemble is sponsored by Wells Fargo Investment Advisors and the production design is sponsored by Matson Money.

All of the romance and wit of Jane Austen returns to CSC’s stage in this charmingly fast-paced and pleasing new adaptation by Jon Jory of her classic 1811 novel, “Sense and Sensibility”. When a lack of luck makes for difficult marriage prospects for the Dashwood sisters. Elinor (Kelly Mengelkoch) and Marianne (Sara Clark) Dashwood set sail on the volatile seas of courtship. Both are seeking husbands, but have completely opposite approaches. The sisters soon discover that neither reserved Elinor’s common sense nor impulsive Marianne’s passion offer the key to happiness. A suave suitor, the dashing Willoughby (Ian Bond) tries to steal the heart of Marianne who has captured the heart of another, the sometimes not-so-suave Colonel Brandon (Giles Davies). And sensible Elinor must pine after the wistful Edward Ferrars (Brent Vimtrup) as she discovers scandalous secrets of his past. Their fortune already lost to fate, will the Dashwood sisters lose all hopes of romance to their own folly?

A favorite director at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company for many years, Drew Fracher returns to helm “Sense and Sensibility”. Mr. Fracher says he is “very interested in the character’s inner lives vs. the societal manners of the day.” Mr. Fracher last directed CSC’s 2010 production of William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. Drew Fracher currently is a director, fight director and actor who has free-lanced professionally for over twenty-five years. He has directed plays from Shakespeare to world premieres at regional theatres throughout the U.S., and staged fights for over two hundred and fifty professional productions, including Broadway and grand opera. He is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, The Society of American Fight Directors and Actor’s Equity Association. As a director he has worked at a wide variety of theatres in addition to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, including Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, the Human Race Theatre Co., Florida Stage, Playhouse on the Square, American Stage Theatre Co. and the Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia Shakespeare Festivals.

“Sense and Sensibility” features CSC Resident Company members Kelly Mengelkoch, Sara Clark, Brent Vimtrup and Giles Davies. Kelly Mengelkoch was last seen on CSC’s stage in her stand-out performance as Queen Katherine in Shakespeare’s “Henry VIII: All is True.” Sara Clark, who recently directed this season’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” was seen on stage in the power-house role of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. A newcomer this season to CSC is Brent Vimtrup who was most recently featured this season in “Henry VIII: All is True” and “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” A Cincinnati audience favorite for many years, Giles Davies returns to our stage for “Sense and Sensibility” having last been seen in the title roles in “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” at CSC.

Scenic and Lighting Designer Andrew Hungerford creates the various locales in southwest England that are visited in “Sense and Sensibility” with innovative scenic elements to accommodate Mr. Jory’s fast-paced adaptation. Costume design by Resident Costume Designer Heidi Jo Schiemer showcases the country inspired fashion of this part of southwest England around 1792-1797, the time period of the story. Sound Designer Doug Borntrager and Master Carpenter Travis McElroy complete the design team.

As the Producing Artistic Director of Actors Theatre of Louisville Jon Jory directed over 125 plays and produced over 1,000 during his 32-year tenure. He conceived the internationally lauded Humana Festival of New American Plays, the SHORTS Festival and the Brown-Forman Classics-in-Context Festival. He was also the Artistic Founding Director of Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut and he has been inducted in New York’s Theatre Hall of Fame. Mr. Jory has directed professionally in nine nations, and in the United States has directed productions at many regional theatres including Washington’s Arena Stage, San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre, Hartford Stage, the McCarter in Princeton, Guthrie Theatre, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has received the National Theatre Conference Award and ATA Distinguished Career Award. For his commitment to new plays, he has received the Margo Jones Award twice, the Shubert Foundation’s James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, Carnegie Mellon’s Commitment to Playwriting Award, and the Special Tony Award for Achievement in Regional Theatre. He is currently the President’s Chair in the Performing Arts Department at Santa Fe University of Arts and Design.

Performances of “Sense and Sensibility” are scheduled for February 17- March 18 on Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. Preview performances are on Feb. 15 & 16. The theater is located at 719 Race Street, downtown Cincinnati, two blocks west of the Aronoff Center. Ticket prices range from $22-$32. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted. If available, student rush tickets can be purchased 30 minutes before showtime. Weekday matinee performances for school and other groups are also available, contact 513.381.2272 ext. 3202 for more information. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273), or visit us online at http://www.cincyshakes.com and click any “Buy Tickets” link.

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has been chosen as a Top 5 Finalist in the country to win $20,000 in new LED Lights for our theatre! Now, we need YOUR help!

Click below to watch the video about why we need these new lights and to VOTE for CSC via facebook.

You can only vote one time, so make it count for CSC. On the facebook page, click the large green VOTE button next to our video “CSC Lighting Contest Entry”. Then click “allow” to approve the application. And that’s it!

THE CONTEST ENDS SATURDAY JAN. 28- VOTE NOW!!

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/user/CincyShakes?blend=21&ob=video-mustangbase#p/a/u/2/TYHrW1rWZCQ

If you have any questions or issues voting, please call us at 513.381.2273 x. 3202 and we will be happy to help.

Brian Isaac Phillips directs Shakespeare’s famous history play
opening on January 13, 2012

Jim Hopkins as King Henry VIII. Photo by Rich Sofranko.

CINCINNATI, December 15, 2011 – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues its eighteenth season with William Shakespeare’s “Henry VIII: All is True”. This production features CSC Ensemble Members Jim Hopkins, Kelly Mengelkoch, Jolin Polasek and Barry Mulholland. “Henry VIII: All is True” is directed by Brian Isaac Phillips and opens January 13th, and runs through February 5th, 2012. Our generous sponsors include: production sponsor Charles Parsons, production design sponsor Osborne, Rohs, Williams & Donohoe and finish the canon sponsors the Mercantile Library’s Canon Club.

With a story so explosive it literally set fire to the Globe Theatre in 1613, the Bard’s final historical tale takes audiences back to the religiously charged conflict between King Henry VIII and the English church, examined earlier in the season in “A Man for All Seasons”—but this time, through the eyes of the King. After years of marriage to his brother’s widow, Henry (Jim Hopkins) begins to suspect that his union with Katherine of Aragon (Kelly Mengelkoch) isn’t as holy as he thought. But is his doubt the only driving force behind his change of heart, or is his burgeoning love for the alluring Anne Boleyn (Jolin Polasek) also to blame? The story of lust for power and love that has fueled a pop culture obsession with such hit TV shows as Showtime’s “The Tudors” featuring these original sinners, comes to life on CSC’s stage.

“Henry VII: All is True” is a companion piece to CSC’s fall production of Robert Bolt’s “A Man for All Seasons”. The story continues as the cast of “A Man for All Seasons” returns to reprise their roles to tell the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn from Henry’s perspective and in Shakespeare’s verse. Both productions are directed by Brian Isaac Phillips, CSC’s Producing Artistic Director, who recently directed the record setting production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. He also helmed this season’s production of “Bedroom Farce” and last season’s productions of “Blithe Spirit”, “Dracula”, “The Life and Death of King John”, “The Handmaid’s Tale” (world premiere) and “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”. Mr. Phillips says “what an exciting project this is! This production is a continuation of a journey we started back in August with our extremely successful run of ‘A Man for All Seasons’. To take a historical event such as the divorce of Henry VIII and look at it from two very unique perspectives in the same season and with the same artists is a director’s dream. If ‘A Man for All Seasons’ was about how far a person will go to stand up for what they believe in, then ‘Henry VIII: All is True’ is about examining how far a person will go to get what they want. Or what they think they want.”

This will be the first time Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will produce “Henry VIII: All is True” and is part ofCSC’s “Finish the Canon” series as the company plans to complete Shakespeare’s entire canon of 37 plays by it’s 20th anniversary season. Having already produced 35 of Shakespeare’s plays, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will produce the remaining two titles, one next season and the last during the 20th anniversary season in 2014. Producing Artistic Director Brian Isaac Phillips notes that “as the company has produced Shakespeare’s less familiar works, like last season’s wildly popular “The Life and Death of King John”, audiences and artists alike have discovered something wonderful in each play that expands their appreciation of Shakespeare’s artistry and skill.”

Featured in “Henry VIII: All is True” is fifth season CSC Ensemble Member Jim Hopkins reprising his role of King Henry VIII from “A Man for All Seasons.” He was most recently seen this season at CSC as Don Armado in “Love’s Labour’s Lost”, Duncan in “Macbeth” and Ernest in “Bedroom Farce”. Last season he was featured as Van Helsing in “Dracula”, Mr. Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice”, and Cardinal Pandulph in “The Life and Death of King John”, as well as numerous other roles during his five years with the company. Other past appearances include: “The School for Wives” at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; “Romeo and Juliet” at the Human Race Theatre; “Harvey” and “Noises Off!” at the Great Plains Theatre Festival; “Omnium Gatherum”, “Bus Stop”, and “Leading Ladies” at the Nebraska Repertory Theatre; and as “Jerry Springer” in Jerry Springer the Opera for Playhouse on the Square in Memphis.

Also featured is CSC newcomer Barry Mulholland reprising his role as Cardinal Woolsey from “A Man for all Seasons”. Mr. Mulholland has appeared Off Broadway in “Ghost Sonata”, “Wild Oats”, “Balloon”, “Danton’s Death”, and “Faust” at Classic Stage, and at regional theatres throughout the country, including the Long Wharf, Cincinnati Playhouse, Capitol Rep, Clarence Brown Theatre, Merrimack Rep, the Shakespeare Theatre, and most recently, in “End Days” for Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. West coast credits include three seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a season with Seattle’s Intiman Theatre, and the Center Theater production of “Love Streams”, with Jon Voight and Gena Rowlands, directed by John Cassavetes. At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, he played Billy the Kid in The Great American Desert, and his own plays “Existential Therapy” and “Barnes & Noble Conquer the World” have been staged at new play festivals in New York and the Berkshires. A native New Englander, he is pleased to be making his first appearance with Cincinnati Shakespeare.

Queen Katherine is played by eighth year ensemble member, Kelly Mengelkoch. Kelly was recently seen as the Princess of France in “Love’s Labour’s Lost”, a Weird Sister in CSC’s production of “Macbeth” and Jan in “Bedroom Farce”. She was featured last season in “Blithe Spirit” as Elvira and in “Pride & Prejudice” as Jane Bennett. Anne Boleyn is played by Jolin Polasek. She was recently seen a Maria in “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and a Weird Sister in CSC’s production of “Macbeth”. Last season she was Sylvia in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” as well as Octavius Caesar in “Julius Caesar” and as Mary Bennett/Elizabeth Lucas in “Pride and Prejudice”.

Performances of “Henry VIII: All is True” are scheduled from January 13- February 5, 2012 on Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. Preview performances are on January 11 & 12, and tickets are only $14. No performance on Sunday January 15th. The theater is located at 719 Race Street, downtown Cincinnati, two blocks west of the Aronoff Center. Single ticket prices range from $22-$28 on Thursday Nights and Sunday Matinees and from $26-$32 on Friday and Saturday Nights. Ticketing fees may apply. Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups as well as Enjoy the Arts and AAA members. “Henry VIII: All is True” is part of CSC’s 2011-2012 subscription package. Season 18 Subscriptions are only on sale until Dec. 31, 2011. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at http://www.cincyshakes.com.

For additional information on “Henry VIII: All is True” visit www.cincyshakes.com.