Sweetteashakespeare About

1.           ACCESSORIES CLOTHING STUFF   ABOUT US MISSION STATEMENT Sweet Tea Shakespeare gathers a diverse community around a common table to delight in the magic of story, song, and stagecraft. WHO WE ARE Sweet Tea Shakespeare is a 501(c)3 nonpro몭t theatre company and training ground inspired by Shakespeare and the early modern period in its spirit and operations. We are based in Fayetteville and Raleigh, North Carolina. HONEY The Honey Series at Sweet Tea Shakespeare celebrates the work of women in theatre. Each production features women in every aspect of the creative process, from acting and writing to producing and costuming. Shows in the series include stories focused on women and often feature new adaptations of classical works by beloved authors, as well as original work by female playwrights. LIT Lit is our irreverent series that sends up Shakespeare — over drinks. Part Bard, part improv, part music, and tons of audience interaction, Lit is a raucous celebration held in local breweries, pubs, and bars.

2. CREDO Sweet Tea Shakespeare embraces a number of early modern staging practices in its performances, including: Sign-up now - don't miss the sweetness! ▼ Subscribe Your email address... UNIVERSAL LIGHTING Shakespeare’s theatres, and many others, enjoyed light that illuminated actor, stage, and audience alike, allowing for engagement between the actor and the audience member. A SURROUNDED SPACE Throughout theatre history, and especially in Shakespeare’s theatres, audiences surrounded a central performance space in con몭gurations now called thrust and arena staging. When the audience surrounds the playing space, they are part of the world of the play, visible to actor and other audience members, working as con몭dants and communities throughout the performance. SIMPLE STAGING Early modern theatres didn’t have 몭xed sets. In Shakespeare’s theatres, acting companies performed di몭erent plays each day, so there wasn’t time for a complete set to be built. Instead, large, movable set pieces were used, such as beds, thrones, tombs, and the like. Simple sets upend the economics of making theatre, putting the emphasis on actor and text. Since the advent of 몭lm, some theatres have put themselves into an unwinnable competition with the spectacular e몭ects and grand visuals of the cinema, and replacing the role of the audience’s imagination with complex and show-stealing technologies. Simple sets o몭er a di몭erent approach, and allow for audiences to build the world of the play with imagination. DOUBLING Many Shakespeare plays, from Hamlet to Macbeth to the histories, have dozens of characters, but early modern playing companies often had casts between 12 and 15, with apprentices and journeymen and others joining occasionally, or with cast sizes expanding for special occasions. With a small group of actors and many characters, it was common practice for actors to play more than one role. By doubling shows, audiences can enjoy one favorite actor play several parts over the course of an evening. ENLIVENED COSTUMING

3. With simple sets and doubled actors, costumes are of critical importance to Shakespeare’s theatres. They served as the primary visual draw for a production and helped distinguish between characters. Importantly, Shakespeare’s theatres wore what was for them modern dress. Think the equivalent of a t-shirt and jeans, an evening gown, a tuxedo, or military fatigues for teenagers, ladies-in-waiting, lords, or soldiers, respectively. Occasionally, such as for the Roman characters in Julius Caesar or the religious 몭gures of Henry V, companies used more developed and historically-minded costumes. By using this mix of modern with a patina of the past, audiences can approach the play as Shakespeare’s audiences did, seeing a world that isn’t too di몭erent from their own. CROSS-GENDER CASTING Shakespeare’s theatres employed all male casts, using boys whose voices hadn’t broken in puberty for young women’s roles like Juliet and Viola. Early modern companies and audiences were accustomed to seeing boys and young men play women (some of whom were disguised as young men, as in Viola’s case). Sweet Tea Shakespeare performances are for everyone, but we enjoy the fun of playing with and in gender by casting across gender frequently. LIVE MUSIC plays included concerts. In addition to numerous music and dance within the plays themselves, shows were often preceded by musical and other entertainments. When Shakespeare’s company moved to Blackfriars in 1608, plays began to include musical interludes that sometimes were more popular than the plays themselves. The music then was contemporary, sometimes plucked o몭 the streets and inserted into a performance in ways that connected the timeless texts with accessible, modern music. Shakespeare’s THE EARLY MODERN “BALLPARK” ATMOSPHERE With universal lighting, surrounded spaces, live music, and access to food and drink, Shakespeare’s theatres were more of a modern-day baseball or football stadium than a darkened theatre with assigned seating and demure audiences. Amid the music, noisy audiences, side entertainments, and beer, a play happened. Just as double plays, triple plays, plays at the plate, homers and beloved players draw the attention of a raucous crowd to the 몭eld, so can great writing, humanity, music, and spectacle draw the eyes and ears of the audience. ACTOR STAKEHOLDERS were run by actors. Shakespeare’s own company, 몭rst called the Lord Shakespeare’s theatres

4. Chamberlain’s Men and later the King’s Men, was owned by a set of around 8 actors, each with a share in the company and most of whom played specialized roles on stage and who brought added value to the company by way of writing, management, or other skills. Sweet Tea Shakespeare is home to a number of Company Members and Associates who take charge of a variety of operations in company management, marketing, production, and performance. HISTORY WHERE WE CAME FROM Sweet Tea Shakespeare was founded in 2012 with summer productions at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Since that time, the company has expanded into year-round operations in Fayetteville and Raleigh. Our o몭erings feature regular productions of Shakespeare’s plays, occasional musicals, concerts, streaming productions and small entertainments, a drunk Shakespeare series, and our young company, Green Tea. WHERE WE’RE GOING Our work is inspired by our communities and the early modern tradition that helped to create Shakespeare. We carry that inspiration forward by creating simple, elemental, magical productions full of rich story, language, character, belonging, charm, and music. Our company is formed around the idea that its contributors shape where it goes. These contributors include our beloved artists, audiences, members, and partners. We’re continually inviting folks to our table to join the work. We’d love for you to join our story and help to shape it. OUR PEOPLE Sweet Tea Shakespeare is a community. Led by our board of directors and small sta몭, our community include company members, artists, volunteers, students of all ages, partners, & sponsors.

5. OUR COMMUNITY EVOLVES CONSTANTLY. WE WELCOME NEW MEMBERS, CONTRIBUTORS, AND FRIENDS TO JOIN THE WORK ON AN ONGOING BASIS. FIND OUT WAYS TO JOIN UP ON OUR GET INVOLVED PAGE. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kellie Artis Mario Be Selena Beckman-Harned Mario Benevente Hillary Bogers Josh Choi Gerard Falls Greg Fiebig Irene Grimes Kimberly Hardy Deborah Happel Staci Graybill David Henderson Smith Kristen Daniel Montoya Kristen Smith

6. Adrienne Trego Ieshia West Dena Vassey Sana Moulder COMPANY MEMBERS Aaron Alderman Taj Allen Medina Demeter Jeremy Fiebig Jacob French Traycie Kuhn-Zapata Nathan Pearce Tohry Petty Jen Pommerenke Dena Vassey Sana Moulder Jonathan Breitzer Evan Bridenstine Will Collier Veronica Colon Liz Covington

7. Matthew Decker Linda Flynn Andrew Gronski Ris Harp Cerina Johnson Jessie Jones Amanda Libero Molly Malone Mary Mariyampillai Jane Moran Laurel Moran Christine Orozco Laura Parker David Reid Sarah Chapman Mia Sgambellone

8. JEREMY FIEBIG Artistic Director & Master of Play TRAYCIE KUHN-ZAPATA Deputy Artistic Director SARAH CHAPMAN Director of Education BRIT BRYANT Director of Marketing BRIAN ADAM KLINE Associate Producer MIA SGAMBELLONE Media Coordinator, Digital Technician MEGHANN REDDING General Manager (left) HAYLEY PHILIPPART Company & Production Manager; Patreon Community Coordinator

9. SANA MOULDER Box O몭ce Manager ZECHARIAH WILLIAMS Production Coordinator

10. ©2021 Sweet Tea Shakespeare. All Rights Reserved. Address: Sweet Tea Shakespeare 126 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28301 Phone: (910) 420-4383  

11.           © 2022 Sweet Tea Shakespeare.