Advice To The Players, Sandwich’s own Shakespeare company, is proud to present their 3rd annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare. Fall Festival is an education program where students work with a directing team of teaching artists who lead the teens through a language-based exploration of Shakespeare. At the end of 10 weeks, the groups come together at Plymouth State University and showcase their work.

This year they have two groups of students participating: Newfound Regional High School and the Sandwich Cobble. Both groups have been participating since 2019. NRHS will be performing Much Ado About Nothing followed by the Sandwich Cobble’s production of The Tempest. The production will take place in-person at Plymouth State University on December 10th starting at 6:00 with Much Ado About Nothing. The Tempest will begin at 7:30. Tickets are $9 and are available at plymouthstatetickets.com. Only one ticket is needed to attend both performances.

Heading these productions is a team of dedicated teaching artists. The lead Director for the Sandwich Cobble’s production is Jessie Chapman, ATTP’s executive producer. Lead Director for Newfound Regional High School’s production is Lucy Randal-Tapply. The team of teaching artists working on these shows include Plymouth State University students and alumni Sarah Anne Bailinson, Garrison Barron, Frederick, Bickford, Mikayla Caterino, Ethan Fifield, Emma Littig, and Stephanie Wiencek at Newfound. The evening will be full of revelry, magic, and two audience favorites from the Shakespeare canon. Don’t miss it. 

Advice To The Players, Sandwich’s own Shakespeare company, is proud to kick off their 2021 season with a virtual performance of ​A Midsummer Night’s Dream​, available online from April 23rd- May 2nd. For this production, ATTP staged this production to be filmed and presented virtually for the safety of both their actors and audience.

The link to watch the performance will be available starting on April 23rd, Shakespeare’s Birthday and audience members can be sent the link by emailing ​contact@advicetotheplayers.org​. In celebration of Shakespeare’s Birthday, and the release of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ATTP is hosting their Bard’s Birthday Campaign- if they can raise $5,000 before the end of May, the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative Foundation will award them with a $5,000 matching grant. These funds will allow ATTP to produce our 2021 Summer Season and continue to bring the literary and performing arts to our community.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream​ features everything from fairy mischief, a play within a play, and dramatic fights in the name of love! This production will not be one to miss, with wonderful returning favorites including Chris Boldt as Theseus, Ethan Fifield as Nick Bottom, and Lucy Randall-Tapply as Puck. Last season’s director of ​Winter’s Tale​ and ​As You Like It​, Maryssa Wanlass graces the stage as Titania, with her husband, Mark Vashro, completing this dynamic fairy duo. The lover quartet includes 4 returning artists who among them have a long and rich history with the company- Caitlin Cremins, Alicia Edgar, Rowan Heard, and Julia de Aveliz Rocha. And as always we have a wonderful group of teens and community members completing this remarkable cast, such as Tom Hyde and Marion Posner.

For more information, please visit www.advicetotheplayers.org/

Center Sandwich, NH, – Off The Dock Players are at it again—this time, on the porch! After the success of such thought-provoking plays as The Humans, by Stephen Karam and A Doll’s House, Part 2, by Lucas Hnath, the troupe is producing a Covid-careful, slightly immersive, outdoor theater experience including two one-act plays written by the inimitable Tennessee Williams. Starring in At Liberty and Something Unspoken are Ashley Bullard, Rebecca Cole, Marena Harris and Lisa Thompson. The production will be directed by Nancy Blaine.

A mother waits for her daughter who is out too late on a chilly southern night. A secretary avoids her employer’s insistence to verbalize what she does not dare. Tennessee Williams is known for exploring the depths of the human condition with dialogue so sharp and telling that we might find ourselves a little embarrassed at the truths he reveals. All with a lyrical southern sarcasm that makes you laugh out loud at the audacity with which his characters speak to one another. Audacity and truth—two characteristics of any Tennessee Williams play.

In these socially-distant pandemic times, Off the Dock is carefully managing seating (limited tickets), offering a pre-packaged southern-type picnic snack on the lawn, with an elevated porch as the perfect stage for two funny, yet deeply moving, southern tales of discontent.

The first weekend performances on 9/25 and 9/26 are at the Cole home at 161 Holderness Road in Center Sandwich. The second weekend performances on 10/3 and 10/4 will be performed at the beautiful Highland House in Tamworth. Picnic and seating begin an hour before each performance and the running time of the 2 one act plays is one hour.

“We wanted to reach out to our two nearby communities because the actors’ residences are split between Sandwich and Tamworth,” said Nancy Blaine. “Additionally, we love to collaborate with local businesses and offer an experience as much as a play. This production, due to the pandemic, has forced us to rethink staging, and what works better than Tennessee Williams on a porch?! I have always been interested in working in less traditional theater environments and Rebecca’s porch along with Dale’s barn seemed like a perfect start.”

Tickets can be purchased at offthedockplayers.com and show times/venues are as follows:  Cole Residence, 161 Holderness Road, Center Sandwich, September 25th and 26th, 5:30 picnic/6:30 show. A Sunday, September 27th matinee has been added due to the demand for tickets.

The Highland House, 654 Cleveland Road, Tamworth NH, October 3rd at 5:30/6:30 and October 4th matinee at 3:00/4:00

NOTE: We are delighted at the response!  Sold out shows for Friday and Saturday and an added show for Sunday at 3:00 (tickets still available). We also have some seats available for our October 3rd and 4th performances in Tamworth.