Featuring Free Outdoor Macbeth, Grizzlies’ Pete Pranica as Mark Twain, the emergence of Emily Dickinson, Southern Literary Salon featuring Ann Patchett, and Dan McCleary as Cyrano de Bergerac
Please join us for an exhilarating 15th performance season in Memphis featuring expansions of our on-stage productions, educational programming, and outreach initiatives projected to create a record 40,000 points of contact in the coming year.
“Because of our staff’s resiliency and creativity, and our Board’s resolve and support, we never ceased programming,” says founder and Producing Artistic Director Dan McCleary. “We discovered ways to expand our work, reach new learners and patrons, and invest in our people and organizational capacity to be of unique service to our Memphis community over these past two plus years. Our mission has been put to the test daily. It is apparent our heart is strong, our will is mighty, and all that we have to offer our world is desired. Our 15th Season reflects the character that we share with our audiences, students, and teachers.”
The 2022-23 Performance Season
The Trouble Begins at Eight: Mark Twain
curated from Mark Twain’s written works and speeches by Pete Pranica
directed by Dan McCleary
on the Tabor Stage
Friday, September 16 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, September 18 at 3:00 pm
generously sponsored by The Sims Family Charitable Trust
Pete Pranica, popular play-by-play television broadcaster for our NBA Memphis Grizzlies, returns as the humorist Mark Twain to address guests gathered here along his much-beloved and cursed-at Mississippi River – an original and literary performance sure to enliven and offend in equal parts across multiple centuries.
The 6th Annual FREE Shout-Out Shakespeare Series:
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
directed by Stephanie Shine
October 6-23
generously sponsored by Evans Petree PC
Expanding to three weeks this season, our annual Shout-Out Series presents Shakespeare’s poetic tragedy offered free of charge at eight different outdoor venues throughout Shelby County. This 85-minute adaptation features six actors performing as Shakespeare’s players did while touring: with character/costume changes on-stage and sound effects accomplished by hand. No tickets are required; but please bring a chair, blanket, and picnic!
Free, Outdoor Performances of Macbeth:
Wiseacre Brewery, 2783 Broad Ave.
Thursday, October 6 at 7:00 pm
International Harvester’s Managerial Park, Lakeland
Friday, October 7 at 7:00 pm
Dixon Gallery & Gardens
Sunday, October 9 at 3:00 pm
The Maria Montessori School Amphitheater in Harbortown, 740 Harbor Bend Road
Thursday, October 13 at 7:00 pm
Overton Square’s Chimes Amphitheatre
Friday, October 14 at 7:00 pm
Overton Square’s Chimes Amphitheatre
Saturday, October 15 at 7:00 pm
Wiseacre Brewery, 398 S. BB King Blvd.
Thursday, October 20 at 7:00 pm
Bartlett Performing Arts Center, 3663 Appling Rd.
Friday, October 21 at 7:00 pm
Collierville Town Square, Historic Train Depot
Saturday, October 22 at 7:00 pm
Overton Park Shell, 1928 Poplar Ave.
Sunday, October 23 at 4:00 pm
I Dwell in Possibility: Emily Dickinson Emerges
created by Denice Hicks and Stephanie Shine
directed by Stephanie Shine
on the Tabor Stage
December 1-11
Premiere
Preview: Thursday, December 1 at 7:30 pm
Opening: Friday, December 2 at 7:30 pm
Subsequent Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3:00 pm
In her own words, Emily Dickinson – the legendary poet who lived in reclusive existence at her Massachusetts family farm as the Belle of Amherst – emerges from isolation and invites you into her home in this premiere, one-woman play featuring Denice Hicks, Artistic Director of Nashville Shakespeare Festival. Though she never saw the publication of her poems and was considered a painfully shy spirit dressed daily in all-white, Dickinson’s words and desires here reveal an alternative portrait of one of America’s ground-breaking writers.
Cyrano de Bergerac
the intoxicating, romantic drama
by Edmund Rostand
translated by Brian Hooker
directed by Amelia Fischer
on the Tabor Stage
February 2-19, 2023
generously sponsored by Pat and Ernest Kelly
Preview: Thursday, February 2 at 7:30 pm
Opening: Friday, February 3 at 7:30 pm
Subsequent Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3:00 pm
Edmund Rostand’s exquisite, immediately popular tale of 1898 is indeed for all time. It offers the sweep of lyrical poetry, mythic romance, modern comedy, and tearful joy in a heartful spectacle as vast as our hero’s…ahem, nose. Rostand’s Cyrano is a hero whose depth of love, humor, courage, and vulnerability belies his outward appearance. But will his secret love, the compassionate Roxanne, recognize this before it’s too late – or will she forever be blinded by the handsome Christian under their fabled moon? Featuring a cast of eleven TSC veterans with Dan McCleary in the title role, this is the play that inspires a revolution in the hearts of all ages.
The Southern Literary Salon Series:
Truth and Beauty of Ann Patchett
on the Tabor Stage
Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 3:00 pm
generously sponsored by Dorothy O. Kirsch
The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and England’s Orange Prize, Ann is the author of seven novels, three books of non-fiction, a collection of short stories, and a children’s book (Lambslide). Her works include The Dutch House (2020 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction), Commonwealth, Run, Truth & Beauty, Bel Canto, and The All of It. She co-owns Parnassus Books in Nashville and champions independent booksellers. Our Salons are unique, fun social hours — or a little more — of curated readings, scenes, and discussions that explore Southern authors and subjects of significance, with a light cocktail or two.
The Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Gala
on the Tabor Stage
Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 6:00 pm
The annual Gala party features indoor/outdoor fun, expansive buffets, open bars, and surprising performances all in support of our year-round Education and Outreach programing in our many area school systems, youth detention facilities, and VA Hospital.
Education and Outreach Programs
Our Education and Outreach programming now will be in operation every month of the year, an expansion that projects to create more points of contact than in any prior season.
Contact our Education Department for more information about any of the following programs and performances, and to reserve your school and students today: (901) 759-0620.
Student Morning Matinees of our mainstage productions begin at 10:30 am on TSC’s Tabor Stage for elementary/middle/high school students and chaperones. Discounted tickets are $10. The matinee schedule:
The Trouble Begins at Eight: Mark Twain: Friday, September 16.
I Dwell in Possibility: Emily Dickinson Emerges: Thursdays, December 1 and 8, and Friday, December 9.
Cyrano de Bergerac: Wednesdays, February 8 and 15, 2023.
The Classical Online Academy, created as a programming alternative during 2020, is our virtual Academy consisting now of over 55 online lectures, discussions, performances, Salons, playshops, interactive residencies, teacher training, and how-to videos that are available to learners of all ages and classroom teachers for modest fees. This catalogue was formalized with the help of our 12-member Tennessee Arts Teachers Advisory Committee, consisting of secondary school teachers from across the state.
The Juvenile Justice Program in Memphis Youth Detention Facilities now will operate all year, made possible by four years of initial funding for such projects by the National Endowment for the Arts and generous donations to our Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Gala. This program will be taught multiple times each week to incarcerated Memphis youth ages 13-17 held at Jail East as they await trial for serious crimes, and with young teens downtown at Hope Academy (Shelby County Juvenile Detention Center). Empowering these teenagers with ownership of Shakespeare’s text, we will encourage discovery, communication, empathy, compassion, service, and forgiveness.
The Feast of Crispian-South program at the Memphis V.A. Hospital will operate from September 2022 – May 2023 thanks to grants generously provided by FedEx, the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Forces, Tennessee Arts Commission, and AutoZone. Launched five years ago for the first time in the southeastern U.S., this Outreach program brings the beauty and power of Shakespeare’s texts into the Memphis V.A. Medical Center over the course of five 6-week sessions. It supports the psychological resources available to Mid-South area military veterans with post-deployment mental health and chemical dependency issues. Now formally adopted as an integral element of the health regimen at the V.A., the program is expanding to respond to individual patient needs.
The Macbeth Initiative teaches and performs in area schools from September through December. Piloted in seven schools during the autumn of 2021, this Education project was requested by teachers for several years and met all goals during the quarter. The curriculum-supported Initiative celebrates the stagecraft known to Shakespeare’s 17th century touring groups. High school upperclassmen will engage in the magic of actor transformation as the company remains on stage for the entire production. The accompanying in-class education component actively initiates students into the world of the actor, giving them the opportunity to speak text and feel the major conflicts of the play. The project will take place in up to 18 individual schools. The Macbeth Initiative is made possible by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Tennessee Arts Commission.
The Romeo and Juliet Project returns to schools from January through March, 2023. Now in its eleventh year, this nationally-recognized Education project is an interactive, three-session residency that will take place in more than ten Memphis area schools, focusing on at-risk populations. The Project employs education activities that engage the entire Freshman population of a partner school. This residency offers three strategically-placed, in-class sessions that work in concert with the classroom teacher’s teaching of the play and adds an intimate, accessible, urgent 90-minute performance. Students engage actively in the world of the play and then act scenes from the play in which life or death choices are made, offering non-violent alternatives for students to rehearse for use if faced with threatening scenarios in their own lives. The Project is made possible by International Paper and Tennessee Arts Commission.
Shakespeare Summer Camps in June and July 2023 will offer 4-5, age-specific camps at TSC for campers ranging from Rising Kindergartener to Rising 12th-Grader/Recent Graduates.
Tennessee Shakespeare Company is one of Memphis’ new, official Polling Locations for the Shelby County Election Commission. Once Memphians are registered to vote, they may cast their votes at TSC during this year’s Early Voting periods of July 15-30 and October 19 – November 3. If registered Memphians are zoned to vote at TSC on Election Day, they may do so on August 4 and November 8.
We are planning to reach nearly 7,500 audience members, 37,000 children and adult learners, and to employ 25 actors, teaching-artists, and production personnel over the course of our 15th season.
Our artistic priority is to open our stage work to as many non-traditional, live theatre audiences as possible through affordable price points, bringing performances closer to underserved neighborhoods, and offering an exciting mix of popular and challenging play titles.
Box Office
Purchase tickets online here or by calling (901) 759-0604. Open Monday-Friday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, and one hour prior to curtain. TSC is located at 7950 Trinity Road, Memphis, TN 38018-6297.
The Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series production of Macbeth is free of charge, does not require reservations/tickets, and performs outdoors in multiple off-site venues.
All paid performances are in-person-only on the Tabor Stage. All TSC personnel are fully-vaccinated, and ventilation systems in TSC’s facility have been newly upgraded. Hand-sanitizer and free, disposable masks will be made available to all patrons.
The Trouble Begins at Eight: Mark Twain and Truth and Beauty of Ann Patchett tickets in Seating Section One are $27 (Students $20/Seniors $24). Seating Sections Two and Three are $20 (Students $15/Seniors $20).
I Dwell in Possibility: Emily Dickinson Emerges and Cyrano de Bergerac Preview performance tickets are $20 in all Seating Sections. All other performances in Seating Section One are $40 (Students $20/Seniors $35), and in Seating Sections Two and Three are $30 (Students $20/Seniors $25). Thursdays are FREE WILL KIDS’ NIGHTS: up to 4 children 17 years and younger may attend for free when accompanied by at least one, full-price-paying Adult guardian; while seats last.
The Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Gala single tickets are $125, with 8-ticket Platinum/6-ticket Gold/4-ticket Silver Table Sponsorships available with tiered benefits. Please contact Stephanie Shine for details at (901) 759-0620.
No refunds/exchanges. House opens 30 minutes prior to curtain. Credit Card charges require a $1 per-ticket fee. Casts and schedules subject to change with notice. Free parking and covered drop-off at front door.
Our Season 15 Sponsors and Partners
The generous sponsors of our season, productions, and Education and Outreach Program include FedEx, International Paper, the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Midwest, ArtsMemphis, Tennessee Arts Commission, Independent Bank, Evans Petree PC, First Horizon Foundation through an ArtsFirst grant, AutoZone, Campbell Clinic, the family of Pat and Ernest Kelly, The Sims Family Charitable Trust, Nancy R. Copp, the Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Fund, the family of Owen and Margaret Wellford Tabor, the Barbara B. Apperson Angel Fund, and the Dunbar Abston Fund for Sustainable Excellence.
Our season is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee; and is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP5534, awarded to the State of Tennessee by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Our projects and productions are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
Our programming and outreach partners include University of Memphis’ Department of Theatre & Dance, Shelby County Schools, Collierville Municipal School District, Memphis Juvenile Justice System, the Memphis V.A. Hospital, Cities of Bartlett/Collierville/Lakeland/Memphis, Shelby County Election Commission, and the Benjamin Hooks Public Library Friends.
About Tennessee Shakespeare Company:
Tennessee Shakespeare Company is a professional, not-for-profit theatre and education organization in Memphis dedicated to live, diverse performances of William Shakespeare’s plays, as well as works of social significance by classical, Southern, and modern writers/composers; and to providing innovative educational and training programming in-person and online.
Founded in 2008 by Producing Artistic Director Dan McCleary, Tennessee Shakespeare Company is Memphis’ first and only professional, classical theatre. In 2017, TSC purchased its first performing arts facility, which is being renovated into the state’s only permanent home for professional, year-round Shakespeare performance, education, and training. The company is engaged in its Brave New World capital campaign with a goal of $9.2 million, of which nearly one-third has been raised.
TSC has engaged its community with 60 site-specific plays and events for over 53,000 patrons. Its ground-breaking Education Program has reached 120 schools across nine states, totaling over 285,000 student interactions. The Program has achieved a high regional and national profile, partners annually with most local school systems, and this year is a recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts/Arts Midwest’s Shakespeare in American Communities grants: one for The Macbeth Initiative in underserved local schools, and the other for expanded residencies with local incarcerated youth. TSC is one of just a handful of U.S. theatres to be awarded this grant for the fourth consecutive year.
