SCC tickets on sale Wed. 11-11-20
Jim Byrne, Anne Childress, Roger Lipson, Jihan Ramroop, Haylee Salmonsen, Janis Scaturo, Jack Sherman & Jess Tetro
Written by Caitlin Friedberg and Francois James
As a 501 (c) (3) organization we are prohibited from taking overtly political stands, but we feel this statement is one of humanity, justice and equality... not politics.
Syracuse Shakespeare-In-The-Park is still accepting applications for its 2020 theatre intensive entitled, Kids Doing Shakespeare, (KIDS), July 13th through 17th, 2020, 10 am to 3 pm daily, for students entering grade 5 through 12th graders. Rookies and returning students will be taught together in Thornden Park's Carriage House in cooperation with the Syracuse Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs Dept. For the first time we are adding a "summer slide" component. Each student will have the opportunity to select a non-Shakespeare book and develop fun ways of exploring and learning about it
with the guidance of our teachers. Each student will have the chance to meet with a KIDS teacher every two weeks, four sessions in all, until the Friday after Labor Day.
All students will be taught in and around Thornden Park’s Carriage House in cooperation with Syracuse Parks and the support of The John Ben Snow Foundation, Syracuse Teachers Association and B&C Storage. We will employ social distancing techniques as indicated by Onondaga County and NYS.
This exciting mix of speaking skills, stage techniques, costume design, set painting, Renaissance music/dance and English country dancing will be a delight as usual for teachers, specialty teachers and students alike.
Every student performs a part in a scene from our August SSITP production of Much Ado About Nothing, as a culminating activity on the last Friday (7/17 @ 2 pm) of our fun week. Last year, we were thrilled to have one of our newest students, Iris Asiago-Reddy, join the Syracuse Country Dancers in The Queen's Jig on opening night in the Thornden Park Amphitheatre.
For more information on this year's 16th edition of Kids Doing Shakespeare (KIDS) in July 2020, Contact: Ronnie Bell, Executive Director, ronnie@ssitp.org OR bell444@gmail.com OR SU Cantor Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St, Rm 006, Syracuse NY, 13202. Scholarship help based on need is available. Call 315-476-1835 to get an application.
Cost is only $125 through May 25, 2020. You can download an application below in the "Downloads" section of our website.
Compare that to the other programs around town at more than twice the cost (and only half the fun).
Unqualified Praise:
*The ballet at the beginning was excellent. The sound system was terrific- we could hear every word. Great production. The cast made the most of Shakespeare’s humor. The music added a lot.
*Great job. We have been missing live theatre so much.
It was lovely to be able to continue our SSITP tradition.
*I have been coming with my friend for years. It is something we look forward to each summer.
*Thank you for making this happen- it couldn’t have been easy with COVID-19 regulations. As always, we love coming. The venue and the actors are excellent.
*The acting was talented. Thank you.
*Very nice setting. Well organized. Well done.
*I liked the set paintings. What a lovely evening. Thank you.
*Thank you for doing this during this trying time. Your effort is greatly appreciated.
*Ben Hayes performed exceptionally well.
*Great preparations for current COVID conditions. There wasn’t a moment not enjoyable the entire performance. *Thank you for sharing the experience with us AND making this experience affordable for everyone. Absolutely a plus in these trying times of COVID. Everyone has been so nice. Thanks again. My buddy is involved in your play so I will be kept in touch.
*Greatly enjoyed the show. Excellent acting. And thanks for all the COVID precautions- well done! Nice to enjoy live theatre.
*Another excellent production.
*I thought it was funny and well done.
*Lots of fun.
*Bravo. We enjoyed the show. I follow you on FB.
*Very well done.
*Nice show. So good to get out for some culture after being cooped up. Thank you for doing this live.
*SSITP is awesome. It makes summer in Syracuse civilized. The joy of the outdoor amphitheater can’t be beat. Thank you to all.
*Great show. Thanks for coming through the pandemic. Stay well.
*I liked how all the action was on the stage. It was lovely to add ballet and the guitarist. I also loved the bird sounds to signify being outdoors. Beatrice was wonderful.
*I liked the set up and Beatrice and Benedick.
*Amazing- such a fun play and the actors did a great job. *I loved the show. I found many of the actors to be extraordinary. What a wonderful thing to do.
*Excellent entertaining- well cast, funny and thoroughly enjoyable. Nice to be out, social distanced, enjoying wonderful local theatre.
*Thank you so much for putting this on.
*The story was very enjoyable and the atmosphere of the park was wonderful.
*Great job as always. Thanks for putting on a show during this difficult time. Actors were wonderful.
*This was so well planned and executed. I thought everyone was so funny, especially Rebekah and David.
Great show.
*So enjoyable. Cast was very expressive and impressive. Didn’t miss a beat even when there was an electrical
fluke. Thank you for an entertaining Sunday.
*Benedick (Merante) was excellent. Beatrice (Tadros) was also awesome. Their reactions and body language were really enjoyable.
*Really liked Benedick- awesome job.
*Very good show. I appreciate the family-friendliness. *Very good play.
*Great show. Actors were wonderful. Kudos on the sound. Peter was great on the guitar.
*Well-acted and directed- I laughed and thoroughly enjoyed.
*So happy to hear that you were continuing production
this year even with the pandemic. One of my favorite summer activities, one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. *Very entertaining & well done.
*Great show as always. Glad it was able to take place.
*A wonderful performance, as always. Thank you.
*Loved the guitar.
*Amazing show. Loved all the actors.
*Thank you for putting on the performance.
*Super fun and well-acted.
*Aaron was swell at singing that little ditty. Comedy great. *A wonderful experience.
*My favorite Shakespearean piece presented beautifully. Brava.
*My hearing aids do not do credit to the fine audio system and good diction of actors.
*Such a delight on a perfect summer evening. Thank you. My granddaughter has done the KIDS summer program in 2019 and 2020 and loves it.
*Great play, very relevant 450 years after written. Phenomenal job with performances.
*Thank you for doing this. This show was my first since early March and it did my son so much good to be
here.
*This is great to get out during COVID-19. Forever Shakespeare.
*Loved the guitar. Very understandable.
*Such an enjoyable show. Very well done.
*It was so moving to be able to attend a live performance and support the arts. Bravo. A joy to see SCB perform, too.
*Was really fun.
*I love the acting and the story. It gave me that stupid smile all the way through. You guys, both stage and tech, did an amazing job. Congrats. Mackenzie is my hero. She’s so cool and super-duper awesome.
*Thank you for figuring out how to put on a live show this summer. Our best night out in a long time. *So glad you could make this work in a pandemic.
*Thank you for the entertainment during these strange times.
*Such a lovely afternoon to celebrate my mother’s birthday.
*Loved the show.
*They did a very good job.
*Always a great show.
*Excellent, well done. So long since we saw this.
*Love the summary in the program. The sound quality was wonderful.
*Very enjoyable. Loved Don John, the villain.
*Great. Thanks for making the effort to have in-person performance during the pandemic.
*The sound was really good. Loved the play and the performance.
*Fantastic. So good you’re back in the park. Loved it. *Great actors, great play.
*We appreciate your putting this production on during these COVID times. There is not much familiar these days. I think this was very special.
*So appreciative of these shows. My second one-very grateful for the walk-in ticket. Love the synopsis,
thank you.
*Great show. Highly entertaining. Wonderful way to celebrate our 24th anniversary.
*The actors, music and direction were phenomenal. Loved it. Thank you for an excellent evening.
*I love the show a lot.
*This was the best show I have seen at SSITP. Great job. Loved the scenery changes of house and garden. *Wonderful show in a wonderful atmosphere.
*Such a marvelous show & a talented cast. Such an excellent example of how live theatre can still safely take place in these times. Thank you for a wonderful experience.
*Thank you. We had a great time watching the performance. Cheers.
*Desperately needed during COVID. Thank you so much. I had a wonderful time.
*So great to see live performance again. Such a treat, great setting. Always love the costumes & acting. I liked the pictures that helped show changes of location.
*Very nice show.
*Kudos to all. Thanks for providing this to our community. *Great show & service to the community.
*Great to have some live theatre.
*Thank you so much for doing this show- it’s the highlight of the summer.
*I thought it was a splendid performance.
*Very entertaining- all actors were engaging & kept the story intriguing.
*I am so happy to finally see a live show- thank you so, so much.
*Especially in this time, it was a delightful evening.
*Thank you for providing live theatre in a safe location. *Very well done. Language was excellent.
*Wonderful job. Enjoyed this as much as last year’s show.
*Wonderful. So glad this could happen.
*Fantastic job & highly entertaining.
*Excellent sound & good acting direction.
*Delightful show. Appreciate actors’ mastery of the language.
*The sound was high quality. We really appreciated the live guitar. Well done on all accounts. Thank you during COVID. Very enjoyable.
*Great show. Loved the ballet. Bravo cast and crew.
*Very great show as always.
*Enjoyed this very much- my favorite play.
*Very good show.
*Incredible acting. Very fun.
*Thumbs up for guitar.
*Guitar guy was A+.
*Thank you so much for providing us with live theatre. Great job managing COVID restrictions.
*Very much fun, laugh out loud.
*This is a beautiful venue. I felt very safe- thank you for all your precautions. I greatly appreciate the synopsis so I could follow along. We are lucky to have live theatre. *Keep up the good work. It was nice to come out and see the performance.
*I enjoyed the life the actors brought to the characters. *My favorite character was Dogberry.
*Always enjoy the show each year- keep them coming. *Great show. Great location. Great to be outside.
*Was great to get out in a safe environment- loved the play.
*Really flowed well- able to follow story and characters read for outside.
*One of my favorite Shakespeare plays.
*The actors were very good.
*Excellent venue, acoustics & acting.
*Beatrice was extremely expressive. Friar was so professional- great accent. Generally all the actors did a wonderful job. Claudio was great- so dramatic.
*Great work. Thanks for taking the time.
*Loved the chemistry between Beatrice & Benedick. *Everyone did an amazing job as well as the rules for COVID were executed very well. *
Did you know?
Our banner makers (Speedpro) made the ship banners for the set and a new SSITP letterhead banner... can you spot the letterhead difference?
The mission of the Syracuse Shakespeare Festival Corp., now doing business as Syracuse Shakespeare-In-The-Park, is to bring the beauty, poetry and language of Shakespeare to everyone in Central New York especially school-aged children and seniors. We also strive to attract visitors from outside the region to supplement and support the health of the CNY economy.
SSITP is producing all of its Shakespeare plays in period costume only! When you want to see great Shakespeare set and costumed as closely as possible to how the Bard did, come see one of our Shakespeare shows
We will achieve these goals by presenting high quality productions of Shakespeare plays in period costumes for our two outdoor shows in the Thornden Park Amphitheater in June and August each year. The public is invited to attend the shows for free and encouraged to make donations to ensure the high quality of future productions.
We will achieve these goals by reaching out to CNY school-aged students and seniors through classes, workshops, in-school performances, field trips to Thornden Park and virtual programming based on current curricular needs and identified goals. We will collaborate with as many community groups and funders as possible to widen and strengthen our productions.
The cast of "Merry Wives of Windsor" takes a bow after a rousing Saturday show in August 2018...