Back by popular demand, our Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series returns for its eighth season featuring The Comedy of Errors in ten different outdoor venues throughout the Shelby County area for free September 27 – October 20. Shakespeare’s whirlwind of hilarity and mistaken identities also plays indoors on our newly-designed Tabor Stage for two performances for half-priced admission on September 28 and 29.
The Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series, which launches our 17th season, is generously sponsored by Evans Petree PC of Memphis and the Shakespeare Fund of Theater League of Kansas City.
Outdoor performances are free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are required: first-come/first-seated. Patrons are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket for seating, and to picnic. Indoor Tabor Stage performances require reservations by contacting our Box Office here or (901) 759-0604.
Directed by TSC Founder and Producing Artistic Director Dan McCleary, this 90-minute production of William Shakespeare’s madcap romp features a 13-actor ensemble that includes two star-turns for two actors playing four roles: founding member Michael Khanlarian plays the long-lost twins Antipholus of Syracuse/Antipholus of Ephesus, and TSC veteran Lauren Gunn as the equally long-lost twins Dromio of Syracuse/Dromio of Ephesus. Both actors played the Macbeths two years ago in the Shout-Out Series, and last year Khanlarian played Prospero and Gunn played his would-be drunken assassin Stephano in The Tempest.
Also returning to TSC are Jeremy Bukauskas (Duke) and Stuart Heyman (Balthasar/Officer). The ensemble includes TSC newcomers Raven Martin (Second Merchant), Charles R. Ratcliff II (Angelo), and Kierra Turner (Courtesan), as well as TSC’s Classical Theatre Apprentice Company: Christine Strong (Adriana), Fiona Byrne (Luciana), Jacqueline Nunweiler (Emilia), Baxter Konstans (Dr. Pinch/First Merchant), Jonathan Dimas (Egeon), and Andrew Christenson (Messenger/asst. stage manager).
The design team includes Jeremy Allen Fisher (scenic and lighting), Allison White (costumes), Melanie Mulder (properties), and Clare Kelly (scenic artist). Jasmine Simmers is the Production Stage Manager.
The Series spans four weeks this year, opening on September 27 outdoors at Bartlett Performing Arts Center. The Series returns for the first time in a few years to the bluffs of the Mississippi River with a performance on Tom Lee Park’s north lawn. Other returning venues from last year include Bartlett Performing Arts Center (outdoors), Collierville Town Square, Davies Manor in Bartlett, Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Overton Park Shell, Overton Square’s Chimes Square Amphitheatre, St. George’s Episcopal Church in Germantown, Wiseacre Brewery’s Broad Avenue location, and Woodlawn in LaGrange, TN.
In The Comedy of Errors, mistaken identities (two sets of identical master/servant twins) and extraordinary misunderstandings could explode into violence along a mystical seacoast, but Shakespeare’s comedies always end with marriage and compassion. The sets of twins are separated at birth in a sea storm. Now in their mid-20s and after seven years of searching for their lost other halves, the visiting master/servant pair unknowingly find themselves in the same city as their identical siblings. Chaos ensues with wrongful accusations, bewildered spouses, and a series of head-scratching errors as the visiting twins are mistaken for their home counterparts.
One of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, The Comedy of Errors also is his shortest. The main story is as ancient as Greek theatre, further refined in at least two later Roman plays, which Shakespeare here combines. But he doesn’t stop there. He doubles the identical twins and puts them on the clock. The story starts with a governmental threat of death of a refugee unless he can find someone to pay his bail by day’s end. Enter the visiting twins — to no one’s awareness but the audiences’. Shakespeare, himself a father of twins, endows the ancient comedy with human issues: family loss and the non-traditional family, the treatment of refuges in a land influenced by commerce and legality, the fair treatment of workers, and cultural prejudice.
“Shakespeare deftly explores these modern topics which in turn drive the comedic crunch of time and identity in his version of the play,” says McCleary. “And because the story continues to stand the test of time, it’s a tribute both to his sense of humor and his desire for compassion. Some of the world’s sublime rhythms, set-ups, and jokes are in this play. And not to be overlooked is Shakespeare’s material change of the story’s ancient ending. This tale, in Roman hands, used to end with the home twin selling everything (including his wife) and exiting his city to run away with his brother. Shakespeare opts for something caringly opposite, and that dramaturgical decision will inform the rest of his plays in his life.”
Performance Schedule:
Friday, September 27 at 7:00 pm: Bartlett Performing Arts Center (indoors)
3663 Appling Road, Bartlett; no reservations required
Saturday, September 28 at 7:00 pm: Tabor Stage (indoors)
TSC; half-price admission charged; reserve seats with TSC’s Box Office
Sunday, September 29 at 3:00 pm: Tabor Stage (indoors)
TSC; half-price admission charged; reserve seats with TSC’s Box Office
Pre-show director talk at 2:40 pm by Dan McCleary
Thursday, October 3 at 7:00 pm: Wiseacre Brewery
2783 Broad Avenue, Memphis; no reservations required
Visit the El Mero Food Truck, and enjoy a drink from the Brewery
Saturday, October 5 at 4:00 pm: Woodlawn
24545 TN-57, LaGrange, TN; no reservations required
Sunday, October 6 at 3:00 pm: Dixon Gallery & Gardens
4339 Park Avenue, Memphis; no reservations required
Friday, October 11 at 7:00 pm: St. George’s Episcopal Church
2425 S. Germantown Rd., Germantown; no reservations required
Saturday, October 12 at 5:00 pm: Tom Lee Park north lawn
Downtown, Huling Avenue entrance; no reservations required
Sunday, October 13 at 4:00 pm: Davies Manor
3570 Davieshire Dr., Bartlett; no reservations required
Friday, October 18 at 7:00 pm: Overton Square’s Chimes Square Amphitheatre
2101 Madison Avenue, Memphis; no reservations required
Saturday, October 19 at 7:00 pm: Collierville Town Square’s Train Depot
96 N. Center Street, Collierville; no reservations required
Sunday, October 20 at 4:00 pm: Overton Park Shell
1928 Poplar Avenue, Memphis; no reservations required
Artistic and Production Bios
Jeremy Bukauskas (Duke Solinus/Pinch Assistant) TSC: The Romeo and Juliet Project (Lord Capulet). Regional: Trumpet in the Land, The White Savage, The Music Man, All Shook Up!, Sword of Peace, Pathway to Freedom, The Wiz. Educational Theatre: Peter and the Starcatcher, Tartuffe, Peer Gynt, As You Like It, Lovers and Executioners, God of Hell. Jeremy earned his M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Fiona Byrne (Luciana) Recent credits: How to Know the Wild Flowers:A Map, Selkie:Between Land and Sea, The Beau Defeated, Theory of Relativity. Fiona is a graduate of Northwestern University with a B.A. in Theatre and English.
Andrew Christenson (Asst. Stage Manager/Messenger) Performance credits: Escanaba in Da Moonlight, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Little Women, The Seagull, Miracle on 34th Street, Annie Get Your Gun. Stage management: Emerge 360, Silent Sky, Murder Ballad, Emerge Student Dance Concert. Andrew is a local Memphian and a recent University of Memphis graduate, earning a B.F.A. in Theatre with a concentration in Performance.
Jonathan Dimas (Egeon/Pinch Assistant) was born in McAllen, TX, lives in Pharr, TX, was raised in Edinburg, TX, and hails from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Jonathan worked with the 52nd Street Project from Hell’s Kitchen, NYC. Other credits include PSJA North High School, Zoot Suit (the first permitted performance from writer Luis Valdez); University of Texas Pan American: Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Evil Dead: The Musical, and Death and the Maiden; University of Evansville: Julius Caesar and Book of Days. He graduated from the University of Texas Pan-American in 2009 after attending the University of Evansville in 2022.
Jeremy Allen Fisher (Production Manager; Scenic and Lighting Designer) has been with Tennessee Shakespeare Company since 2013, designing 30+ productions. An 18-year veteran in the entertainment business with multiple degrees and certifications, Jeremy is a member of Local USA 829 United Scenic Artists with experience in all aspects of lighting. Founding his design firm in 2019, he has worked on projects of all sizes across the country. He is the Resident Lighting Designer for Opera Memphis and Youngblood Studio. He recently redesigned Ballet Memphis’ annual production of Nutcracker and completed several major public art installations at St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and Oregon State University. Since moving to Memphis in 2011, Jeremy has completed 200+ lighting designs in the city, been nominated for 12 Ostrander Awards with four wins, and in 2017 was awarded the TAC Individual Artist Award for his work in Lighting Design.
Lauren Gunn (Dromio of Syracuse and Dromio of Ephesus) TSC: A Streetcar Named Desire, The Tempest, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, Henry VI, Romeo and Juliet, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. Southern Arena Theatre: Boeing Boeing, I Hate Hamlet. New Stage Theatre: Constellations, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Crimes of the Heart, A Christmas Carol, Cat in the Hat. Fish Tale Group Theatre: Voice of Freedom Summer. Lauren is delighted and honored to continue serving military Veterans at the Memphis V.A. Medical Center with TSC’s Feast of Crispian-South program. She is a member and associate instructor with Dueling Arts International. Education: University of Southern Mississippi (M.F.A.).
Stuart Heyman (Balthasar/Officer) TSC: The Tempest (Gonzalo), Cyrano de Bergerac (Ragueneau), As You Like It (Old Adam), The Comedy of Errors (Duke Solinus), All’s Well That Ends Well (Lefew), The Taming of the Shrew (Baptista), Othello (Brabantio), As You Like It (Corin). Theatre Memphis: Dracula (Van Helsing). Circuit Playhouse: Peter and the Starcatcher (Alf) and Tom Sawyer (Doc Robinson). Desoto Family Theatre: My Fair Lady (Henry Higgins) and Oliver! (Fagin). Germantown Community Theatre: Man of La Mancha (Cervantes/Quixote). New Moon Theatre: The Homecoming (Teddy). Stuart is a founding member of TSC.
Michael Khanlarian (Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus) is a self-described passionate actor and teaching-artist in Memphis. He holds a degree in Theatre Performance from the University of Memphis, where his love for theatre began. As a founding member of TSC, Michael has been instrumental in bringing the arts to various communities across the Mid-South. He is also an ensemble member of Playback Memphis and a teaching-artist for the Orpheum, continually sharing his skills and passion for the performing arts.
Baxter Konstans (Dr. Pinch/First Merchant) Illinois Performance credits at Wesleyan University: True West, Much Ado About Nothing, The Exception and the Rule, Brilliant Traces, and Mauritius. This is his first season with TSC. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in May 2024 with a B.F.A. in Acting where he was given the opportunity to study classical pieces and comedy-writing.
Raven Martin (Second Merchant/Pinch Assistant) has a deep passion for theatre and has performed in productions including Eclipsed, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show, Carmen Jones, and many more. She has also won various acting awards, including the Ostrander Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is elated for her Tennessee Shakespeare Company debut.
Dan McCleary (Director), a native of Memphis, is TSC’s founder and Producing Artistic Director. He has acted or directed or produced a version of The Comedy of Errors in each of the past five decades. Twenty years ago, he shared the stage with TSC veteran actor Tony Molina as the Dromio twins. Dan dedicates this production to Tony’s memory.
Micki McCormick (Asst. Technical Director) TSC: technical director for last year’s Shout-Out production of The Tempest, and sound engineer for A Streetcar Named Desire. Design Credits: Assistant for Opera Memphis’s La Bohème and La Calisto. Electrician for Opera Memphis’s The Rising and the Falling and The University of Memphis’ Rocky Horror Picture Show. Ostrander winner (2022) for the University of Memphis’ production of A Bright Room Called Day for Excellence in Sound Design.
Melanie Mulder (Properties Designer) TSC credits: The Importance of Being Earnest, A Streetcar Named Desire, Hamlet, Ada and the Engine, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Additional credits: The Color Purple, Jelly’s Last Jam, A Song for Coretta, Ruined, In the Heights, and Once on this Island at Hattiloo Theatre. Melanie has served as Props Designer on productions for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival (TN), Seaside Music Theatre (FL), Vineyard Theatre, Pearl Theatre, the New School for Drama, and The Signature Theatre (all NYC), Williamstown Theatre Festival (MA), Lake George Opera (NY), and Northern Stage (VT). Melanie is a native Memphian and received her B.F.A. in theatre from The University of Memphis.
Jacqueline Nunweiler (Emilia/Pinch Assistant) is a graduate of East Carolina University’s School of Theatre & Dance program with a B.F.A. in Acting and a minor in Costume Design. East Carolina University: The Winter’s Tale, Pride and Prejudice, Intimate Apparel, Romeo & Juliet, and The Visit. Other Credits: ‘night Mother, Macbeth, and Tartuffe.
Charles R. Ratcliff II (Angelo) is a Dallas native and stage/television performer. He is incredibly excited about his premier TSC production. Theater Memphis: The Glass Menagerie. University of Dallas: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom). Other credits include Love’s Labor’s Lost (Dull/Mercade) and a presentation of sonnets with Shakespeare Dallas. He is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Certified Brain Injury Specialist; and he working toward his Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders. He is happy to discuss his current research interest in vocal behavior in performers.
Jasmine Simmers (Production Stage Manager) TSC: Stage Manager for Hamlet, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Macbeth Initiative, and Assistant Stage Manager for The Tempest. Other credits include La Bohème, The Rocky Horror Show, Back When Mike Was Kate, The Forever Question, and Le Nozze di Figaro. She holds a B.F.A. in Theatre, Design, and Technology from the University of Memphis.
Christine Strong (Adriana) is excited to make her debut with TSC. Credits include Marian: or The True Tale of Robin Hood, Baltimore, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Fefu and Her Friends. Christine is a graduate of Emerson College’s Acting program with a B.F.A.
Kierra Turner (Courtesan) is an actor, singer, and native Memphian making her TSC debut. Acting credits include the Harrell Theatre: The Little Shop of Horrors; Theatre Memphis: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Much Ado About Nothing, A Christmas Carol; Hattiloo Theatre: The Color Purple; Christian Brothers University: Sylvia, Dearly Departed. Kierra is also a teaching-artist collaborating with organizations in the city, including the Orpheum, Theatre Memphis, and Playhouse on the Square.
Allison White (Costume Designer) has been the resident costume designer and costume shop manager at TSC for the last three seasons. TSC design credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, Cyrano de Bergerac, Ada and the Engine, Macbeth, Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses, The Romeo and Juliet Project (2022 and 2023); also I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Germantown Community Theatre); The Mousetrap, Blithe Spirit, You Can’t Take it With You (Theatre Memphis); Pippin, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Day is Long to End (University of Florida); Caroline, or Change (Cape Fear Regional Theatre); The Secret World of Og (Sarasota Youth Opera); Smokey Joe’s Café, All My Sons, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Theatre Raleigh). Allison has an M.F.A. in Costume Design from The University of Florida.
Box Office Information for Ticketed Tabor Stage Performances and All Free Outdoor Performances
Half-price tickets for The Comedy of Errors indoors on TSC’s Tabor Stage are $22 (Students $10/Seniors $15).
Tabor Stage tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office at (901) 759-0604 open Tuesday-Friday from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, and one hour prior to curtain. TSC is located at 7950 Trinity Road, Memphis, TN 38018-6297. No refunds/exchanges. The house opens 30 minutes prior to curtain. Credit Card charges require a $1.50 per-ticket fee. Free Tabor Stage parking and covered drop-off at the front door are available at TSC.
All other performances are outdoors, free to attend, and no reservations or purchases are required. Seating outdoors is first-come/first-seated. Please bring your own chairs.
The cast and schedule are subject to change with notice.
Season 17 Sponsors
TSC’s generous sponsors of its season, productions, and Education and Outreach Program include FedEx, International Paper, Arts Midwest, ARTSmemphis, Tennessee Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Independent Bank, Evans Petree PC, First Horizon Foundation through an ArtsFirst grant, AutoZone, Nancy R. Copp, Pat and Ernest Kelly, J. Walker Sims and the Sims Family Charitable Trust, Deborah Dunklin Tipton, Pete Pranica, Edward and Gloria Felsenthal, the Dunbar Abston Fund for Sustainable Excellence, the Barbara B. Apperson Angel Fund, and the Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Fund.
TSC’s season is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee.
