Portland Actors Ensemble seeks directors for its summer 2012 Shakespeare-in-the-Parks season featuring The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark as the next installment of our Twilight Tragedie series, and Twelfth Night as our touring production. Directors are invited to submit proposals for one or both shows. Hamlet is scheduled to open June 14 and run through late July. Twelfth Night is scheduled to preview July 21 at Maryhill Museum, have its regular opening July 28, and run through Labor Day.

PAE has been bringing free Shakespeare to Portland area audiences for over forty years. PAE is committed to providing financially-accessible classical theatre in a variety of locations. Our tradition is to embrace the natural beauty of the area, rather than to attempt to recreate an indoor production outside. Some performances will be ASL-interpreted.

Performances of Hamlet have preliminarily been scheduled to occur at the top of Rocky Butte in NE Portland, however potential directors are invited to propose a different location in the Portland area. Previous Twilight Tragedie performances have occurred at Lovejoy Fountain, Cathedral Park, and at the top of Mount Tabor. The touring production of Twelfth Night will visit a variety of parks and universities around the Portland area and Maryhill Museum in the gorge.


Below are some areas to be sure to cover in your proposal. Feel free to explore and expand, however be sure to cover at least these topics:

What will the rehearsal process be like? How long?

What are the dominant themes you are emphasizing? Are there any “controversial” aspects of the script to be dealt with? If so, how will they be addressed?

What is your approach to the text itself? What’s staying, what’s being transposed/conflated and what’s going away? Is there extra material you’re bringing in? We don’t need line-by-line, but more on a scenic level. Also, when’s your intermission?

What’s your casting approach (gender, age, etc)? Cast size? Doubling? Consolidating characters?

Design elements (Costume/Set/Movement, et al).

What’s your allocation of budget (this can be done in terms of % if you prefer)?

In what time period do you plan to place your play? Do you plan to do a "concept" show? If so, what is it?

Hamlet specific areas:
Ghost? Swordplay? Length?

Twelfth Night specific topics:
Twins? Music?

Proposals should be submitted at portlandactors@gmail.com, or by mail at Portland Actors Ensemble, PO BOX 8671, Portland, OR 97207. Email submission is preferred if possible.
 

The deadlines for proposals are as follows: Hamlet: December 5, 2011 Twelfth Night: December 31, 2011
If you have any questions, you can contact Michael Godsey at portlandactors@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Michael Godsey
Artistic Director, Portland Actors Ensemble