Our next show, scheduled for the
Thornden Park Amphitheatre... Richard III

Syracuse Shakespeare-In-The-Park 's, “Kids Doing Shakespeare,” (KIDS) was a ton of fun and learning for 13 students in grades 5 thru 12.

Rookies and returning students were taught together in Thornden Park’s Carriage House in cooperation with the Syracuse Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs Dept. and the John Ben Snow Foundation.  

This exciting programming mix of speaking skills, stage techniques, costume design, set painting, Renaissance music & dance  and English country dance had our best sets ever thanks to an extremely talented group and the magical genius of Dr. Weeks art teacher Steve Orlando.  

All students participated in one of the two chosen scenes, as a culminating activity for family, friends & the public, on the last Friday of our intensive (but fun) theatre week. 

The scenes included the one where Falstaff hides in a laundry basket to escape detection by Mistress Ford's husband, selected from our 2018 main stage SSITP production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Aug. 3-12th, in Thornden Park's beautiful Amphitheatre, and the scene where he is "pinched" with burning tapers by fairies in the local Park's forest.

• Such a wonderful community event. Thank you for keeping it going. • Wonderful performance. Love it, especially the audience participation. My friend had sprung for the $20 seats for both of us. It was more than worth the money. Next year I’ll gladly get the $20 seats with food and ice cream. I’ll find out from Facebook. Will definitely be back next year. • The show was very well done! The mics worked well and was easy to hear. Great Job! Great Guitar!! • So Good! • 1st time attending, thanks for this opportunity, Ice cream a wonderful touch! Very well organized. Thank you. • Great production season! • Thank you! • Getting better every year! • Absolutely wonderful. Well organized w/ intermission. Fun and family friendly. Appreciate very much!! • Fun afternoon. • The show was wonderful, keep it up. • So helpful to have the synopsis for the teens and adults. Great show. • I enjoyed myself and was looking forward to the show. Loved it very much. Next time I will bring money, thank you. • We appreciate your performers. • Great show. Sound system has greatly improved over the years. So many laughs. Acting wonderful. • Loved it, great outdoor acting. Love Shakespeare in the park, one of my favorite parks too! • Actors are very talented and enjoyed the show. • Great job, really enjoyed the show, looking forward to next season. (first time attending). • Everyone did such an amazing job. Can’t wait for the next show. • It was great! I forgot to bring cash though ☹. • I enjoyed it very much. Very entertaining. Phenomenal job. • Great show! • Was a great time, very well done. • Excellent show and acting!! Great venue and activities! • Great show! • Great show! • So delightful. Premium tickets a great value and service. • Delightful! • Great fun and fantastic venue. Keep it coming please. • Well done, I liked the acting. Continue doing well. Break a leg. • This was a beautiful and funny play. I thoroughly enjoyed everything especially the friendliness of the players. • It was amazing funny and quite comical. • I appreciate the efforts of the members in keeping Shakespeare alive in Syracuse. • Very fun and lovely production. • This was a truly wonderful performance. Some of the best work that I have seen you do. Thank you! • Fantastic evening of theatre. Haven’t been to a Shakespeare in the park in a number of years. Thank you for the fantastic sound system. Acting, story, direction have always been great. It was really perfect today. • Terrific job! Great sound! • Excellent. • Lovely evening out. Thank you! • Excellent transitions 

and good sound system. • What a treat and a warm up. Tomorrow we are heading to Stratford ON to see Julius Caesar. Thank you. • I always love coming to your shows, and I’m now bringing friends to share the joy. This show was my most favorite yet! • Thank you for a wonderful performance! What a treat!! • I was transfixed! • Excellent! • Great job! Many years of satisfaction. • Sound and music was excellent, dancing was great. Grande finale! • Mistress Paige was excellent. • Well don’t, you all broke a leg tonight. • Loved the costumed. The ballet dancers and their costumes were an extra treat. • Fantastic in every way. • Very enjoyable! • Wonderful cast. Wonderful setting. Thank you!! • It was great how the audience was incorporated. • Wonderful show! I had a great time. Everyone did such an amazing job, especially in the heat. • Wonderful production! Maggie and Chelsea were outstanding in the leads. Jason as Falstaff was super, and Jack’s performance stole the show. • It was a great show. My favorite characters were the wives. They were amazing. • Good Job! 😊 • Excellent staging, pacing and delivery, Bravo! • Great show, enjoyment the merriment and fun of it. Thank you. • Seriously a wonderful production. Wow! Thank you so much! Great job! More Chelsea! • These shows are amazing. We love how engaged with the audience and the passion for the theatre comes through with the cast. • Bringing the story to and interacting with the audience kept the momentum special. Great show. • Excellent Falstaff. • I loved the pre-show music. • What a great performance! Thank you. • Master Ford was hilarious, he was my favorite. I appreciate the synopsis of each scene, it helps me understand better. The guitar player set a good vibe and atmosphere. I also like how the scenes made use of the grounds other than the stage. Like acting in the round. This is my first time here. I didn’t know this amphitheater existed. This is a great venue/setting. I like the trees and grass and it reminds me of the grounds at the Renaissance Festival. It feels private and secluded. The sound system/microphones were excellent. They helped me hear the enunciation of the old English. • Loved it! The use of the amphitheater was very good. Tight acting! Loved the fairy scene in the forest. Actors were excellent. Perhaps the best SSITP to date. • So good! The acting was on par with any professional troupe, so well done. I loved the interaction with the audience. Just so well acted!! • Nice production! Thank you for an entertaining evening. • Valuable part of our community. • A fun romp on a summer evening. The actors were having great fun with their roles. • We thoroughly enjoyed the play, especially the scene with the fairies. Very funny! • Very well done! Loved the 

ballet addition. • Great presentation! • Great job, especially enjoyed interaction with audience. • Great way to spend a summer evening, was great. • This was bright and sparkly, well done! • Very nicely done! • Great show! • Thank you, ice cream was a nice touch. Wonderful setting. • Very much enjoyed. • Please add to email list, love the outside venue. • The show was really funny and really great. Also enjoyable to watch. • So glad local government supports this important local art. • Great show! • Nicely done! • Enjoyable. • A delightful evening. • Great show and talent. • So well done, entertaining. The cast seems to enjoy being their roles. Lots of positive energy. Actors were awesome! All of them! • Very entertaining. • Great fun! • Fantastic! Wow! The sound was good. Well done! Huzzah. • Incredible staging. • Chelsea Lembo was great – so expressive and her physical movement was superb. • Well done, very good cast. • Liked how you integrated the whole amphitheater in the show. • Outdoor theater is always special. Nice setting and talented cast. Hard work and practice pays off. Continue the effort! • I have seen all of your shows over the past 4 or 5 years. Always a good show. Love the audience participation! Always a great summer event! Thanks you for providing this to our community. • Delighted. Atmosphere was wonderous. Can’t wait till the next event. • Wonderful work. • Thank you. • very enjoyable. Looking forward to future performances. • Very entertaining. • Great fun! Great acting! The setting is nice too. • Great job by cast! Especially Falstaff and Master Ford. • Great! • Wonderful show and the front row deal was well worth it 😊 • Delightful! • Love the music. • Thank you! • The show was done very well. • Wonderful evening. Talented performers. Love Shakespeare. Will return for future performances. Great show! Loved it. It was good to have a synopsis to help follow the plot. Enjoyed it all. • My favorite Shakespeare play. Falstaff did a great job as did all the actors, well done! • Brought our granddaughter to SU and saw your lawn sign, so we attended, Very nice and friendly. • Really well done! Great dancers. • Wonderful. Very clear. Good sound. Good energy. • Lots of fun! Thanks for organizing and keeping it going. • I’m just visiting Syracuse for the weekend and this play was a great activity to spend a Saturday afternoon. • Very entertaining and great to have the program so that it was easier to follow the play. Always a joy! • Lovely show. I really enjoyed the production. Compliments to everyone involved. • Well done! • Every show is more professional. Sound really worked well. Staging great. • Loved the show and setting. Snacks good. • Enjoyable fun show. • It was good to be welcomed at the 

entrance. Thank you, Tom. • Great fun! • Great job! Very funny and enjoyable! The ladies were stupendous! Loved the woman’s eye and vision. Go Girls! • It was amazing. I loved the audience interactions 😊 • I enjoyed the show and thought some of the main characters did a great job. Thanks for the synopsis, that helped to understand the play. • Great. • Well done, good job with synopsis, easy to follow. Thank you! • Very enjoyable show! I’ll be back with more family next week! • We loved the audience participation moments and the friendliness toward children attending. • Very well done. • Wonderful! Dr. Caius was great – as was everyone else – enjoyed the ballet. As always, well done! • Wonderful – loved having the synopsis to follow along. • This was such a fun show, loved all of it. • Very well done! • The children area with free bubbles and beach balls – wow! Great! Couldn’t ask for a better family friendly afternoon. • Great show. • very well done and entertaining. • Fun family friendly venue. • Good job! I loved the girls in pink and blue. A like coming back after a long time without seeing one. What a great experience. Beautiful day – very extraordinary. • Great performance. • Thoroughly enjoyed – wonderful way to spend an afternoon. • Very pleasant. Well done. • Glad this happens every year. • I am not a fan of Shakespeare but it was an enjoyable event. It is very apparent that you all love Shakespeare and put love and effort into the production. Keep up the good work. I will come again. • Great performance! Will be back. • 

Merry Wives of Windsor attracted more than 1,100 people to come see the show.  It was our first truly interactive show that began with 10 minutes of characters improv-ing with the audience and continued with as many immersive features as our director, Kassy Melendez-Ramirez, could fit into the Amphitheatre including selecting two audience members to appear as the fake Anne Page to fool Slender and Dr. Caius.