Dates, Locations Set For Montana Shakespeare In The Parks’ Plays
Seventy-nine performances. Sixty-five rural communities. Fifty-three years on the road. In a way, it feels like coming home, said Kevin Asselin, executive artistic director of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks.
MSIP, a part of Montana State University’s College of Arts and Architecture, will perform William Shakespeare’s plays Henry V and As You Like It for its annual summer tour across five states.
Performances will include As You Like It in Wolf Point on June 27 and Henry V in Malta on June 26 and in Sidney on June 28.
The program provides performances for rural communities and grade schools that might not otherwise have access to free theater of MSIP’s quality and scope. It is one of the largest and oldest Shakespeare companies in the United States, Asselin said.
“Giving young people the opportunity to experience these shows is the cornerstone of what we do and is the reason we’re still around after five decades,” he said.
MSIP considered nearly 400 actors across the country for its summer cast of 11, five of whom are returning performers. Avery Johnson, a 23-year-old from Arlington, Va., is one such MSIP alumnus and plays Henry in Henry V and Corin in As You Like It. Johnson said Henry V explores themes of justice, duty and mercy through the historical tale of England’s King Henry. The character grapples with running a country torn apart by civil wars and eventually leads England to victory against France in the Battle of Agincourt.
Asselin said MSIP’s sense of camaraderie within the cast and crew is part of what motivates the actors as they move from town to town together throughout the summer to present a total of 79 performances.
