RIP Mama T, Barbara Toman
Mission of Syracuse Shakespeare-in-the-Park
Just like the Bard; outdoors in summer, indoors at other times: authentic Shakespeare all the time
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.
In August 2020, Much Ado About Nothing was the first CN theatrical show since the pandemic shutdown.
"Scrooge Meets Shakespeare's Ghosts" is SOLD OUT both nights. Huzza.
Audience comments about August 2021's "Comedy of Errors"
Fabulous:
*A wonderful addition to a Syracuse summer event, and educational. *A super fun afternoon. *Loved the play. The actors were wonderful and all the staff were so nice. *Thank you x3. Well done. *Enjoyed it very much and looking forward to the future productions. *Very nice play. Adriana was great and very funny. *Very nice. Very well done. *Tremendous job done by all cast and crew. *A well done production, very creative improv. *Enjoyed the play, look forward to the next. *Very enjoyable show, great cast, was quite entertaining. *Very funny and well made. Keep it up. *My seven-year-old was entranced. Could hear everything from the far back. Wonderful. *The one “brother” could dance. *Fabulous. Love the costumes, great acting. Thank you. *Well done, thanks for the show. *Thank you. Excited to attend more in the future. Loved the dancing. *Music was so appropriate, costumes were impressive, sound excellent, acting amazing, stage set very clear— worked well. *I loved that there was so much music incorporated into the play. The musicians added greatly to setting the mood. The dance at the opening was lovely. They were the storm and the waves. *Excellent show. Can’t wait until next time. *Lauhs/joy were very much needed and appreciated. *Love the performance, especially love the ballet. *Very funny, loved all of it. *The location, plot and organization all well done. *Thank you for a great show on a beautiful night. Very enjoyable. Great performance. *Very well done, very funny. The Bard would be proud. *Always love the shows in the Park and will continue to support. *Loved the energy of the cast, direction made the action clear. Thought the cast and direction was strong. Music and dance added a lot. Excellent. *This was great. I’m not usually a fan of Shakespeare’s comedies but this was wonderful. Thank you all. *So enjoyable, wonderful acting and costuming. *Enjoyed the venue and enthusiasm. *Excellent as always. Amazing how the actors manage flawlessly in the heat. We love coming. *This was an especially fun play, uplifting and easy to understand. More like this one please. *Understand the play very well, enjoy a lot. *I laughed riotously. Had I more understanding of Elizabethan slang, I would have been apoplectic. *Loved the extra musicians. The cast seemed well rehearsed and dialogue flowed well. Sound was good. *Very much enjoyed. Thanks for all your hard work. *Better every year. *I look forward to both the June and August shows each year. A great setting for a summer evening of theatre. *Great job all. Sound System is fabulous. *What a great production of the play. Well done *Great setting, good use of costumes and props. *As usual, had a wonderful time. The company was extremely talented and joyously funny. *Music was an EXCELLENT enhancement. Actors and scenes were great. One of the best productions I have seen at Thornden. *A lot of fun to watch! The actors were really good...I could hear them very well. *I am so grateful for this live Shakespeare performance. *Truly appreciate the Actors’ dedication to the arts. *Very funny, always a joy to watch! *Better every year, production great this year- sound, staging, costumes, music, dancing, of course the actors *LOVE SSTIP, favorite thing to do in the summer. *Hilarious, extremely committed to acting, beautiful music, loved the stool bit at the end. *We appreciate all the hard work that went into it. *Show was great and the actors were hilarious. *Comedic Confusion was perfect, the clowns never failed to make me laugh. *This was a nice family thing to do together, thanks! *I’m 12 and I found “Comedy of Errors” very witty and fun. 5 star rating.
*Never seen this one before & it was really good. Much funnier than I was expecting. Synopsis was very helpful. *Loved it. Really enjoyed having the pre-show. * Thanks for a terrific (early) evening. * Fantastic cast, persevere in the weather, were absolutely hilarious. *Thoroughly enjoyed it—acting was excellent.
Short and Sweet:
*Great job. *Enjoyed myself immensely. *Excellent job everyone. *Awesome. *Loved it x4. *Thank you. *Show was great. *Very enjoyable evening. *Great show x3. *Great. *Very entertaining. *Awesome job. *Awesome, very entertaining. *Wonderful show. *Super production. *Very enjoyable— thank you. **Bravo *A great time *Thoroughly enjoyed it *The thumbs way up *Fantastic production *Thank you for providing a synopsis *Great Performance by all *Wonderful production. clowns were a great addition. *LOVE this humor *Excellent production with nice weather *Tons of fun *Awesome. My 9-year-old loved it *Glad we came *Love the show, *This was so much fun. AAAHHH. *Really fun. Had a great time. *This was fantastic *Great execution of the story *Shakespeare would be proud *Funny and enjoyable *Wonderful *Fantastic performance *So very enjoyable What a nice event. *Always a lovely afternoon. *Great, fun, entertaining. *Excellent.
*Phenomenal job.
First Timers:
*It was my first time seeing anything like this in America. It was so cool. Congratulations. The band was my favorite part. *Was very fun. First time in attendance. * This was our first time at one of these productions. The actors' delivery was very clear and had good diction. Excellent. Bravo. A nice change from other Shakespeare productions in upstate NY. *My friend got me to come and I was pleasantly surprised *This was our first time to see SSITP and we loved it! A Syracuse gem. Bravo. *A great time, it was our first time. We can’t wait for the next one! *Great setting...love the enthusiasm...want to support in the future.
*First time, but Lord willing, not last.
Troilus and Cressida's 6-6-21 audience (above)
June 4-13, 2021: Troilus and Cressida
- Helen- Emily Aguello
- Troilus- Aaron Alexander
- Achilles- Peter Andres
- Menelaus- Chris Best
- Priam- Mark Braiman
- Thersites- Jim Byrne
- Paris- Jacob Garofalo
- Ulysses- Roger Lipson
- Diomedes- Tone Merrick
- Cassandra- Mackenzie Moran
- Cressida- Alyssa Otoski-Keim
- Hector- Derek Powell
- Agamemnon- Bob Reid
- Prologue- Haylee Salmonsen
- Ajax- Stephen Shepherd
- Pandarus- Jack Sherman
- Patroclus- Malichi Simmons
- Nestor- John Triana
August 6-15, 2021: Comedy of Errors
Cast List as of July 2021
Jesse Navagh: Antipholus of Syracuse
Jay Merante: Dromio of Syracuse
Aaron Alexander: Antipholus of Ephesus
Brian O'Connor: Dromio of Ephesus
Alyssa Otoski-Keim: Adriana
Emily Augello: Luciana
Dan Stevens: Angelo
Peter Andres: Duke Solinus
Jack Sherman: Aegeon
Nora O'Dea: Aemilia
Ben Hayes: Officer
Maria Coleman: Courtesan
Janis Scaturo: Doctor Pinch
David Hitchcock: Merchant
Margot Vangel: Clown
Kristina Rusho: Clown Donovan Stanfield: Clown
KIDS 2021
How we did it in one week, 7/12 to 7/16/21 mostly outside the Thornde
Another resounding success- KIDS 2021 —
- SSITP gave students and staff a rich and diverse experience.
- Pictured ^ above, John and Sondra Bromka, better know as Bells & Motley, played many Renaissance instruments and taught our KIDS how to do the "Stick Dance."
- SSITP also gave the students multiple experiences in costuming with Barbara Toman, art history making shields with Anne Margaret Childress, English country dancing where they learned "Physical Snob" from Bob Nicholson and set design/painting with SCSD art teacher Steve Orlando.
- Shout out to our enabling sponsor, CNY Community Foundation and program sponsors B&C Storage, Syracuse Teachers Assoc. and the Syr. Parks Recreation & Youth Services Dept.
- Download the KIDS 2021 playbill below for a great taste of how we do out student programing for 5th-12th graders.
More programs and classes coming your way soon —
Royce Burgess' powerful performance photos from Troilus and Cressida
Statement on Justice and Equality
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.