EBE Ensemble Presents Free Summer Shows in Prospect Park at the Music Pagoda

Brooklyn, NY, June 24, 2010 --(PR.com)-- EBE Ensemble (Eric Alba, Artistic Director; Montgomery Sutton, Executive Director) will produce its first free, outdoor summer program at Prospect Park’s 1887 Music Pagoda from July 24-August 7, featuring a repertory company in productions of Romeo & Juliet and Julius Caesar. The productions, together called Shakespeare in the Pagoda, are sponsored in part by Arizona Iced Tea and will be site-specific and feature active, modern interpretations using Shakespeare’s classic texts. Live music and foley sound effects enhance the outdoor experience.

Romeo & Juliet, directed by Dev Bondarin (Gallery Players’ The House of Blue Leaves), opens at 1pm on July 24; Julius Caesar, directed by Kristine Ayers (EBE Ensemble’s Things to do in New Jersey), opens at 4pm. The shows plays continue in rotating repertory at 1pm and 4pm daily on July 25, 30, 31, August 6, and 7. For complete schedule information, visit www.ebeensemble.com/shakespeare/.

The repertory company includes many familiar faces to Prospect Park area residents, including ensemble members Montgomery Sutton* (Rebellious Subjects’ Henry IV/V at the Music Pagoda; Gallery Players’ King Lear and Candide) as Romeo and Octavius Caesar; Eric Alba (EBE’s Buddha Nosh and Russian Roulette) as Tybalt and Brutus; and Joshua Luria (Rebellious Subjects’ Henry IV/V) as Benvolio and Casca, as well as guest artists Judy Alvarez (Gallery Players’ Candide), Ugo Chukwu (The Heights’ Players Take Me Out), Camille Mazurek* (Pulse Ensemble Theater’s Twelfth Night and Ladies in Retirement), Nicholas Reinhardt (Rebellious Subjects’ Henry IV/V), Len Rella* (Gallery Players’ Candide; Gorilla Rep’s Julius Caesar and Joan of Arc), Jessica Rothenberg (The Huntington Theatre’s The Cherry Orchard; Gallery Players’ King Lear), Elizabeth Spano (Curious Frog’s Romeo & Juliet), Steve Viola (Rebellious Subjects’ Henry IV/V), and Jessica Frey (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles).

The shows feature costume design by Amanda Jenks, original music by Frederick Alden Terry (Romeo & Juliet) and Nicholas R. Wright (Julius Caesar), fight choreography by Turner Smith, and live foley design by Joshua B. Jenks and Nancy Valladares. Julius Caesar is assistant directed and stage managed by Mandee Kulaga; Romeo & Juliet is staged managed by Jessica Polanco.

EBE Ensemble is dedicated to developing and presenting new and unique works of theatre. They believe that making theater accessible enhances a community and that, through an ensemble-based approach, they can better present quality theatre that strives for an emotional truth. Now finishing their third season, EBE Ensemble has produced several new plays and adaptations and created the “You Fill in the Blank” play festival and competition in addition to the award-winning national one-act festival, Elephants on Parade.

* Denotes membership in Actors’ Equity Association. An Equity Approved Showcase.

Shakespeare in the Pagoda: Romeo & Juliet and Julius Caesar
Directed by Dev Bondarin and Kristine Ayers
Runs Saturday July 24 – Saturday August 7

The Music Pagoda is located in Prospect Park, next to the Boat House, near the Prospect Park subway station on the B, Q or S trains.

Admission is Free. Folding chairs may be rented in advance for $3, or $5 at the park (subject to availability). For more information, please visit www.ebeensemble.com/shakespeare/.

Each show runs approximately 90 minutes without an intermission

Press performances are July 25th, 26th, and 30th at 1pm & 4pm
Directors and cast are available for interviews. To arrange interviews and press seats please contact Company Manager Genevieve Hudson-Price / genevieve@ebeensemble.com.

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