Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) continues its 2020-21 virtual season with Pericles, Prince
of Tyre by William Shakespeare, directed by Raphael Massie. All performances will be presented online, beginning on Thursday evening February 25 at 7:30pm, and continuing through Sunday, March 7 at 2:00pm.
In Shakespeare’s play, Pericles leaves home to escape death only to win a jousting contest and princess. Once he can return, his family sails with him, but a storm separates them, so Pericles arrives alone. Years later, Pericles finds his daughter and reunites with the wife he had thought was dead. This epic, fantasy, adventure, will be re-imagined for the Zoom platform as a graphic novel come to life.
Pericles director Raphael Massie is an Artistic Associate at the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which was founded in 1935 and typically draws a total attendance over 360,000 to southern Oregon for a season of repertory performances. Mr. Massie’s directing credits include work at Elm Shakespeare in New Haven, CT; at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA; and at Southern Connecticut State University. He earned an MFA in Theatre Practice from the University of Exeter (UK), and both a BA/BS from Southern Connecticut State University.
Mr. Massie notes that “Pericles, Prince of Tyre is an epic, fantasy, adventure and this production will live in the imagination. I think the best way to describe the frame would be ‘a bedtime story for adults.’ The narrative quality that Gower (the Chorus character) provides throughout is unique in terms of the dramatic structure of Shakespeare’s plays, and we will combine that structure with puppetry and story art in order to have the Zoom platform work to our advantage and create an enhanced theatrical experience.”
Two AEA actors have been cast in this production. CRT is pleased to announce that Damien Thompson has taken the role of Pericles and Lauren Walker will play Diana and Gower. (Biographies of the performers is below) )
Ticket prices for Pericles, Prince of Tyre are $10 for students, $14 for seniors, and UConn faculty & staff, and $16 for the general public. All ticket prices include a $1 processing fee. Ticket purchasers will receive a link via email allowing access to the performance.
The complete schedule includes evening performances, on Thursday, February 25 at 7:30 pm, on Friday, February 26 at 8:00pm, Saturday, February 27 at 8:00pm, Wednesday, March 3 at 7:30pm, Thursday, March 4 at 7:30pm, Friday, March 5 at 8:00pm, and Saturday, March 6 at 8:00pm. Matinee performances are offered at 2:00pm on Saturday, March 6 and Sunday March 7.
Damien Thompson
Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Miami, FL, Damian was a performer before he knew it. From a very early age he was his family's private entertainer, always dancing at family functions and reciting TV shows. He started his arts training at Miami Norland Middle's magnet theater program, and later went on to earn his MFA in theater at the University of Delaware's Professional Theatre Training Program (Also attending Miami Northwestern's Senior High School's Performing and Visual Arts Theatre Program, and the University of Evansville's BFA Acting Program.) Favorite roles included Oshoosi Size in The Brothers Size (for which he won a Drammy award for Best Actor), Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice, and Gently Ai in the world premiere stage adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand Of Darkness.
Lauren F. Walker
Lauren F. Walker (Pronounced Luh-Ren) is a skilled actress and entrepreneur originally from
Washington, DC and she is the definition of a Go Getter! Lauren started her journey with acting when she was 14, studying theatre at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. While in high school, Lauren got the opportunity to perform at The Kennedy Center with Charles Dutton's in Shakespeare's King Lear. Lauren continued her studies in the BFA Acting Conservatory at SUNY Purchase College where she graduated on the Dean's List with honors before moving to New York City to begin her acting career.
Lauren made her Off-Broadway debut in MCC's Charm. Other credits include HBO's Random Acts of Flyness, The Public's Julius Caesar and Midsummer: A Banquet which was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. In addition to acting, Lauren is dedicated to community building. She is the founder of Creators of Color Collective, an organization that creates space for artists of color to grow, collaborate and uplift each other by focusing on acting, audition preparation and mental health for artists. In between auditioning, zoom rehearsals and acting class, Lauren can be found teaching kids the joy of dance, uplifting black women with her business, Braids By Lo, and hosting monthly open mics with New York Theatre Workshop.