East Ventura News

Kevin P. Kern will direct the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival’s production of "Much Ado About Nothing" from June 21 through July 7, 2024, at California Lutheran University. The festival, themed “The Season of Love,” will feature two of William Shakespeare’s most beloved plays: "Romeo and Juliet" and "Much Ado About Nothing."

The comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" opens the 27th Annual Shakespeare Festival with performances from June 21 through July 7. "Romeo and Juliet" follows from July 12 through 28. All performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. on Fridays through Sundays at California Lutheran University.

“After 12 years, the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is bringing back two of Shakespeare’s most famous and romance-laden plays. One will have you laughing, and the other will leave you in tears,” said Michael J. Arndt, artistic director and founding member of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, Cal Lutheran’s nonprofit professional theatre company. “These timeless plays continue to delight audiences, even 400 years after they were first performed.”

"Much Ado About Nothing" is a highly physical comedic production that follows Beatrice and Benedick as they battle each other and initially deny their love. The play features original music and is directed by Kevin P. Kern, a longtime Kingsmen member.

Kern is a professor at the University of Mount Union in Ohio and the founder and artistic director of Shakespeare at the Castle in Alliance, Ohio. He has directed many Kingsmen productions, including "The Merry Wives of Windsor" in 2019. Beatrice and Benedick are played by married couple Jane and Brett Elliott, both longtime Kingsmen members; Brett proposed to Jane onstage during a 2006 production.

Elizabeth Swain will direct the second production, "Romeo and Juliet," from July 12 through July 28 at California Lutheran University.

The classic tragedy explores themes of love, fate, and the destructive consequences of hatred between feuding families Montague and Capulet. It includes original dance scenes and action-filled sword fights. Director Elizabeth Swain sets the play in a traditional manner.

Swain is an accomplished Los Angeles- and New York-based actor and director who previously directed the Kingsmen production "The Two Noble Kinsmen" in 2018. Dane Oliver plays Romeo; he is a Los Angeles-based actor and fight choreographer. Alessandra Manon portrays Juliet; this marks her first Kingsmen production.

Kingsmen is contracted with the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), featuring eight AEA actors and two AEA stage managers this year. The company also includes acting apprentices recruited from advanced acting students nationwide, acting interns from Cal Lutheran, as well as local nonunion actors.

All performances take place on the Streeter Stage erected in Kingsmen Park on Cal Lutheran's campus at 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. Grounds open at 5:30 p.m., with preshow entertainment starting at 6:45 p.m. General admission tickets range between $15 to $25 and can be purchased online at bit.ly/2024ShakespeareFestival. Refreshments are available for purchase at the event, with picnic food options available for pre-ordering.

For more information about these events or to purchase tickets visit kingsmenshakespeare.org.

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