Iowa Shakespeare Experience :: Summer Traveling Shows

OVERVIEW OF TRAVELING PROGRAM:

In 2010, Shakesperience Festival kicked off our abiity to serve ever-widening circles of the Metro area with our Windsor Height's "Shakespeare Shorts" sneak preview show at the beautiful new Colby Park outdoor creekside stage. It was a hit!

Thus, in 2011, we are greatly expanding this program! There is a special emphasis on expanding this program to Bravo 28 E cities.

In partnership with Bravo Greater Des Moines and as one of our special Prairie Meadows Family Nights shows, we will again be traveling - possibly to as many as THREE terrific area stages, in addition to our Mainstage Line up.

For more information about dates and locations of our confirmed and pending traveling shows, scroll down.

You will also find information on how YOU might bring a traveling show to your own community!

OUR 2011 TRAVELING SHOW:

Classics Along-the-Cityscape: Mark TWAIN-ment Tonite!

No doubt about it- as the New York Times says, that rascal Twain is just flat-out cool, cool, COOL. AND ALSO a HOT cultural topic just now. In fact, he's even made the current New York Times bestseller list yet again!

But this is that Funster Rogue as you’ve never before seen him– you’ll find new twists on old favorites - -plus a chance to savor VERY rare Twain romantic works. We’re reprising this hit original play (first produced at Terrace Hill) that captivates everyone from families to the intellectual intelligentsia. And as usual, we'll be adding a lot of fantastic extras - including an original song written by our own Preshia Paulding, the Metro's theatrical songbird extraordinaire.

So - -BE THERE when America’s own Bard makes this lively, insightful appearance on our own Riverbank --in an unusual line-up complete with his lovely wife, beautiful daughters, erudite publisher friend ...and a terrific musical entourage! Its an unforgettable summer night of timeless wit that sails across the entire extravagant spectrum of human endeavor and desires!

n CHECK OUT WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:

aThe New York Times 6/19/10: Mark Twain “ was cool, let’s face it”… “A smash hit on bestseller lists!” “One of our greatest writers.” “Mark Twain just makes you feel good!”

aMike Morrain, Des Moines Register 6/17/08: “The original script (about a wise guy) is the result of more than a year of research by local playwright Lorenzo Sandoval, another wise guy, who pulled together scenes from Twain’s short stories, essays and novels. …The kind of show that makes you wish your life involved more picnics with linen napkins… Even the one-liners are polished.”

TRAVELING SHOW LINE UP 2011

DATES AND LOCATIONS

Carlisle; July 29

~Friday, July 29: TRAVELING SHOW for Bravo/Prairie Meadows Family Nights: South Suburbs: Mark TWAINment Tonite on the historic Randleman House front porch with audience seating on the lawn, Carlisle, Iowa. Travel 20 minutes to friendly small-town Carlisle (12 miles from Des Moines Airport)- - and you'll end up traveling about 115 years back in time to enjoy Twain in truly historic surroundings on a lush, mosquito-sprayed shady lawn! The Historic Randleman House is a true hidden treasure currently in the midst of exciting rennovations. And, they are a joy to work with - - even removing their current front porch railing for us to showcase the lovely porch and house as our main performance area! By that time, there will be a brand new roof, too! Randleman House is the site of lovely indoor soirees and even additional indoor theatre, too, and is a terrific visit at any time of year! See CAHS.webs.com.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS, SHOWTIMES AND DETAILS FOR THE JULY 29 RANDLEMAN HOUSE SHOW:

Directions: The historic Randleman House is located in the heart of residential Carlisle, a southern "small town friendly" suburb about 20 minutes (only 12 miles from Des Moines Airport) from downtown Des Moines. Off of the multi-lane 65 Bypass, take Hwy 5 to the third set of lights, which is First Avenue. Head North on First to Pennsylvania Avenue, right (east) a few blocks to the House. The House is located at the corner of 3rd and Pennsylvania.

Showtime: 8pm Curtain - -with Grounds opening at 7 for picnics.

Details: Picnics are welcome. Concessions, if any, will be provided by the community of Carlisle. Please check Randleman House website for details on alcohol limitations. Show is FREE, but a free-will donation to support the theatre company will be taken.

RAIN: There IS a rain location for this show: check the Randleman House website!

RANDLEMAN HOUSE WEBSITE: CAHS.webs.com

Ankeny, July 30

~Saturday, July 30: TRAVELING SHOW for Bravo/Prairie Meadows Family Nights, North Suburbs: Mark TWAINment Tonite at the Bandshell, Wagner Park, Ankeny, Iowa. The huge stage comes to life... and the expansive lawn is a perfect-for-picnics park - minutes from downtown!h

The City of Ankeny, its PR Department, and its Park and Rec Department have been simply fantastic partners in bringing this traveling show opportunity to life! Watch for their extensive social marketing campaign and be sure to come out for a lovely evening that is a terrific demonstration project showcasing the many ways we can all work together to grow and showcase the arts here in central Iowa!

DRIVING DIRECTIONS, SHOWTIME AND DETAILS FOR THE JULY 30 SHOW AT THE WAGNER PARK BANDSHELL:

Showtime: 8 pm, Grounds open at 7 for picnics.

Driving Directions: Ankeny is a fast growing upscale suburb north of the downtown Des Moines area and very easy to reach via I-35. Wagner Park is easy to locate- adjacent to Ankeny City Hall off First Street. Plenty of off free street parking.

Details: Wine and picnices welcome. Concessions, if available, will be provided by the Ankeny community. Show is FREE, but a free-will donation to support the theatre company will be taken.

SHAKESPEARE SHORTS SPECIAL EVENT

To Be Announced: “Shakespeare Shorts” will provide a world premiere and “sneak peak” of our Summer Festival, with a tentative performance date of Sunday, July 17 in Windsor Heights at the glorious new Colby Park outdoor creekside stage. Our Shakespeare Shorts program provides a preview version of our Mainstage line up and holds a special place of honor as the first show in the entire festival's line up. If you want to BE THE FIRST, watch for this special evening of theatre and related entertainment.

HOW TO BRING A TRAVELING SHOW TO YOUR COMMUNITY

For information on the shows above, or regarding hiring the ISE to bring a similar program to YOUR hometown, contact Robin@IowaShakespeare.org.

We would be glad to help you think thru the details! However, it can be helpful to peruse the information below before contacting us, to get a sense of how to define your needs and your capacity.

THE IOWA SHAKESPEARE EXPERIENCE

TRAVELING STAGE SERVICE OPTIONS

There is nothing more exciting than bringing a unique theatre show

directly into your own community.

The ISE is pleased to work with communities across Iowa to provide

the following types of services:

Standardized “Package” Services
Partially customized Services
Fully customized Services (including commissioned shows)

and

Full range of educational services (with or w/out a show):

youth, families, Adults/Seniors

2010 Basic “Package” Traveling Services

Show

Description

Special notes

Typical

Price range

Shakespeare Shorts

(30, 60 or90 minutes)

3- 6 Actors:

Classic scenes from Shakespeare tied together with creative narration

Exact show will be tied to our Des Moines Mainstage Festival show –

2010 = Midsummer

$2500 - $5,000

Midsummer Night’s Dream Extravaganza

(09-120 minutes)

6-8 Actors plus

Stage manager,

limited crew;

includes range of extensive dance and music options

A traveling version of our 2010 Des Moines Mainstage Festival show

$10,000 -$15,000

Sonnets, Singles and Song

(30-60 minutes)

1-3 Actors

Readings from famous sonnets, monologues or dialogues mixed with guitar-based music and light informative narration plus informative commentary

Can be designed with seasonal twists – such as a June wedding theme, an April fools theme, a “Lusty Lovers”themes, etc.

$1,000 - $2,000

“Double Double

Toil and Trouble:

Classic Ghosts and Ghoulies and Faery Folk”

60-90 minutes)

1- 3 Actors

Shakespeare’s famous ghost and ghoulie, and magical transromation scenes from Macbeth, Hamlet, Midsummer Nights Dream

Particularly great in the month of October!

Some of the most famous otherworldly scenes of all time!

$1,000 - $2,000

Romeo and Juliet:

Thrice Told Tales

(60 minutes)

7 Actors: An original take on the most famous lovestory of all time: what if the young lovers didn’t commit suicide- but got married like the rest of us! Funny- AND very sweet.

Can add a dance option

$10,000 - $11,500

Custom Holiday-themed show OR custom full blown Shakespearean Classic of your choice

(45-120 minutes)

We specialize in custom designing classic shows not only from Shakespeare, but also from Dickens, O-Henry, Wharton,

Custom shows can be designed for indoor areas, historic sites, or for outdoor park areas

$10,000 - $20,000

Financing: The ISE can assist with obtaining grants or sponsor support and in some cases,

will consider accepting various percentages of ticket sale income connected to certain shows.

THE IOWA SHAKESPEARE EXPERIENCE

LIST OF TRAVELING STAGE SERVICE OPTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS

2010

The following chart presents an overview of the type of “menu” your organizations can consider as you work together with The Iowa Shakespeare Experience to customize a show that can travel to any community within a 45 mile radius of Des Moines.

Carefully note that when planning what your community is interested in, there are many issues to consider. Each consideration involves a “trade off” between available budget and desired outcome, but the good news is that almost everything is exactly “customizable” to what you wish.

Among the things to consider are:

1. LIGHTING AND SOUND BASICS: Do you want to purchase lighting? Sound? Or does your facility already have ample capacities for that? Things to keep in mind:

If you want to do a show at night, you will need lights- and you will almost always want to consider sound issues. Does your stage already have lights and sound? If so, what kind?
Keep in mind that sophisticated theatre lighting (such as colored lights, gobos, or special effects like fog) which we routinely use on the Simon Estes stage are not typically provided on most community stages. But they do make a HUGE difference in the overall look of a show.
We CAN provide that type of specialty lighting and are happy to do so, but there is a cost involved which we would have to negotiate with our commercial sound/lighting provider. Note that lighting and fees to Actors are usually THE single most expensive parts of a theatre production.
On the other hand, of course we can work with simple white lights (just “lights up and lights down”), or with any lighting/sound your facility might already have - -just don’t expect the final look to have the exact same “polish” or “pizzazz” a more sophisticated lighting/sound plan can provide.
Also keep in mind: even if you decide to purchase additional special effect lighting, you then have to decide if you want to purchase a night of rehearsal for us to get cues right which relate to entrances and exits for YOUR particular facility --and for us to get the exact needs of YOUR stage done- or if you want to be a little looser about the final look.
The bottom line is that for the most professional look possible, you would want to build in some rehearsal time, to take place 1 or 2 days before the actual show. That costs dollars. However, if you are ok with a little more casual of a show, you can shave dollars by either using a more “plain vanilla” lighting effect, or by being “ok” with a few missed cues.
Keep in mind that with summer outdoor productions, if you want to go for the crispest look possible, it is best to book TWO rehearsal dates, in case one rains out- because of course with an outdoor production, the only time you can practice outdoor lighting is at night. And if you only book 1 rehearsal night and it rains out, you are in trouble if you want to ensure that “crisp” look. On the other hand, if you want an indoor production, we can practice lighting for that anytime, so that element costs less on an indoor production.
And so on and so on and so on. You just have to think through what you really want, and then we can work with you accordingly.
Note that all of the above issues also apply to sound. In other words, we can bring our own sound equipment, use what you have provided you provide the AV Technician (which always requires practice and at least one pre-show rehearsal on site, tho this can be in the daytime and isn’t as big an issue as lighting). OR we can go “bare bones” without amplified sound. All of these choices require trade offs- the former are more expensive, but the latter quite affordable- yet limited in effect.

2.) PRODUCTION VALUES: Does your organization want us to bring a major production (involving live music and dance and multiple Actors) or more of a community outreach show – without music or dance and with fewer actors? There are tradeoffs in turns of look and budget which we can customize however you want- low end or high end. To avoid injury, dancers also need special kinds of stage surfaces, although our dancers are used to working with non-traditional surfaces, and can sometimes modify their dance to suit a non-dance surface.

3.) COSTUMES: Does your organization want a show involving full costumes? We can gladly provide full costumes, and if this is a teaser show related to our summer Festival, these will come at a discount as we will already have paid for the costumes. However, this doesn’t mean there is no cost for costumes, since following every show costumes must be cleaned (or they deteriorate). So with costumes, at minimum, we would need a cleaning fee. And for a costumed shows, the Actors have an additional 90 minutes of prep to get into and out of costumes and make up. However, on the other hand, we can also keep costs as low as possible by actors performing in “all black” (black clothes they already own.) and minimal makeup. This changes the look of the show but streamlines costs, and can look “cool” in its own right.

4.) DRAMATIC EFFECT: If the show is indoors in a darkenable room, then time of day is not an issue. If the show is in a window-filled room OR outdoors, then you need to consider if you want to hold the show in the day or evening? The overall dramatic effect is typically best at night- but that raises lighting questions. Matinees can be done without lights and are usually less expensive- but not as dramatic in look or “feel” as nighttime shows.

4.) CROSS MARKETING OPTIONS: Does your organization want to purchase cross marketing? If so, for various fees, we can offer space to you in some of our own Festival promotions, such as in fliers (the most affordable), on Cityview ads, on Posters, in ads in the Playhouse and Opera Playbills , or on radio (and with limited ability, on TV.)

Keeping all these variables and options in mind, here is a sample chart

we can use to start to identify price points

All shows involve oversight from Lorenzo Sandoval, MFA:

FOR ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS

Type of Service	Basic Description	Time of Day	Approximate Number of Actors	Live Music and Dance	Other variables to consider
LEAST EXPENSIVE: “Shakespeare Shorts” (we can devise other names for this which can be customized to your community)	Community Outreach shows – small scenes from Midsummer Night’s dream tied together with some narration. These shows ties into the Festival mainstage at Simon Estes, and would be the most affordable approach to serving WH. Note the Chicago Navy Pier Shakespeare group does this type of thing.	Matinee or Evening	3-6	You may have one or the other or a little of each- just need to price it accordingly	Do you want to purchase cross-marketing? Do you want full costumes? What provisions do you want for sound and lighting?
MIDRANGE PRICE: Shakespeare Sonnets and Monologues	Custom crafted for you- Lorenzo would compose an original hour-long script, and feature some of the famous Sonnets and monologues. This can be especially effective if you add optional music or dance.	Matinee or Evening		You may have one or the other or a little of each- just need to price it accordingly	Do you want to purchase cross-marketing? Do you want full costumes? What provisions do you want for sound and lighting?
HIGH END:	Full blown traveling show without live music or dance (or as a variation, with limited dance and recorded music)	Matinee or Evening		You may have one or the other or a little of each- just need to price it accordingly	Do you want to purchase cross-marketing? Do you want full costumes? What provisions do you want for sound and lighting?
HIGHEST END:	Full blown traveling show with live music and dance	Matinee or Evening, but if held outdoors, the overall effect is better if held at night.		Would come with live music and dance	Do you want to purchase cross-marketing? What provisions do you want for sound and lighting? (this would come with full costumes)

OPTIONAL “ADD-ONS” FOR ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS:

Type of Service	Basic Description	Time of Day	Approximate Number of Artists
LEAST EXPENSIVE:	Pre-show Directors talk, or post-show Audience “talk back” or both Oriented towards adults although kids are welcome	Matinee or Evening	1 (pre show director’s talk) – 3 (post show audience talk back)
MIDRANGE PRICE:	Pre-show youth workshops	Day of Show	1-3 Artists provide “mini-workshops” for kids to preview what they will see at the show
HIGH END:	Adult or Senior College classes and/or full youth workshops, which prepare the audience for what they will see at the show - -see below

REGARDING ISE TRAVELING EDUCATIONAL SERVICES: YOUTH

Can be done as a stand-alone OR in combination with Entertainment Shows as described above

All teaching services involve hands on teaching from Lorenzo Sandoval, MFA (15 years of classroom teaching experience) with additional artist-teachers trained by the ISE.

All curriculum is overseen by a certified teacher licensed in the state of Iowa.

Type of Service	Brief Description	Number of Artist-Teachers	Number of kids	Add ons	Things to consider
Youth Grades 5-7 1-5 day workshops Possible options for a 2 week day camp. The 2 week day camp can include a chance for kids to get up on stage in a “mini-performance”.	Acting and Shakespeare Basics Workshop- can also include historical based activities such as making period-oriented crafts, can include writing their own sonnets, making their own Rennaisance family crests, etc	2-4	7-10 kids per teaching artist, no more than 25 kids in any one workshop	Can involve some lessons in intro to dance or theatrical music	We can provide services oriented to at risk youth, gifted or talented youth, or general populations. We can provide outcome measurements for things like prevention of at risk behaviors, like alcohol-drug use, school drop out
Youth Grades 9-12 1-5 day workshops Of 2-3 hours each Possible options for a 2 week day camp. The 2 week day camp can include a chance for kids to get up on stage in a “mini-performance”.	Acting Shakespeare and/or writing sonnets, or writing their own version of a Shakespeare scene. Can include watching, reviewing and discussing Shakespeare multi-media, such as Shakespeare movies and songs	2-4	If NO stage performance: 7-10 kids per teaching artist, no more than 25 kids in any one workshop If there is to be a performance of kids on the stage: 5 kids per teaching artist, no more than 15 kids in any one workshop Minimum of 5 kids.	Can involve some lessons in intro to dance or intro to theatrical music	We can provide services oriented to at risk youth, gifted or talented youth, or general populations. We can provide outcome measurements for things like prevention of at risk behaviors, like alcohol-drug use, school drop out
Youth Grades 1-4 1-2 day workshops	Shakespeare activites- intro to acting, crafts, etc	2-4	4-5 kids per teaching artist, no more than 20 kids in any one workshop
Shakespeare in Spanish	(contact us- many variables)

FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICES: ADULTS OR SENIORS

Can be done alone OR in combination with Youth and/or

Entertainment Shows as described above

All classes require a minimum of 5 students.

Type of Service	Brief Description	Number of Artist-Teachers	Number of students	Add ons	Things to consider
Adult class	Intro to Shakespeare and Midsummer Nights Dream	1 (Lorenzo)	Up to 30	Can discuss adding in some music appreciation	location
Adult class	Intro to Acting Shakespeare	2 (Lorenzo plus)	Up to 15	Costumes are optional	Do they want to perform a mini-play in their neighborhood?
Sr. College class	Intro to Shakespeare and Midsummer Nights Dream	1 (Lorenzo)	Up to 30	Can discuss adding in some music appreciation	location
Sr. College class	Intro to Acting Shakespeare	2 (Lorenzo plus)	Up to 15	Costumes are optional	Do they want to perform a mini-play in their neighborhood?