What a difference a year makes.

Last May we were struggling to get enough local actors to fill half a day at our Memphis auditions. We were also soloing before the Germantown Design and Review Commission in an effort to legalize TSC signage, an outdoor lighting plot, and a stage configuration on Barbara Apperson's property for our inaugural season.

Move forward a year.

This past month, we received literally thousands of submissions from actors and stage managers looking for one five-minute audition slot. Caroline Harrison handled the flood in the office, and Gabriel Vaughan handled the lines at the Atlantic Theatre Company in NYC. In ten straight hours, I saw more than 125 actors. All of them grateful. In Memphis, the lobby of Rhodes' McCoy Theatre was crowded with actors not only from in-town but from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Orlando, Sarasota, Chicago, Nashville, Knoxville, and Indiana. Plus children. (We pulled in Child Czar Miller Whittington to help us wrangle them.)

And then last week, more than 80 supporters stood up in support of TSC at the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, which featured the first reading of the FY10 budget. Included in that budget is a proposed civic support grant of $89,000 for increased TSC education programming. Supporters Elizabeth Farrar, Donna Ladd, Lorraine Cotton, and Jeanne Miller spoke persuasively on behalf of TSC and thanked the Board for its consideration.

The past year has felt a bit like Shakespeare's field at Agincourt, where Henry the Fifth's men were wildly outnumbered yet won the day. Act V is the real pay-off to me in the story, though: Henry's challenging and successful wooing of the French Princess.

Enter Princess.

Much love,

Dan

What a Birthday Party!

Eighty guests came out to play at Interim Restaurant and sing "Happy Birthday" to Shakespeare!

When William Shakespeare himself showed up, Dan finally had his chance to ask some controversial questions about those "lost years" in Shakespeare's life. Will's crafty language was no match for Dan's prying! (pictured above)

Our three finalists were Jake McFadden, Preston Battle, and Herman Markell. Our playful Judges were the President of the Bravo Board at ArtsMemphis, Jason Stone; dedicated supporter and volunteer, Donna Ladd; and TSC Board Treasurer, Sheri Lipman. Though it was a tough contest, Jake McFadden won the night with a Witches' brew of "Double, double, toil and trouble..." as one of the Weird Sisters from Macbeth.

Join us in May as we celebrate a Much Ado Monday - on Wednesday! We'll be at Elfo's Restaurant on Wednesday, May 27 at 6:30 pm.

Tickets are available now by clicking here.

For more on the Dinner at Interim: click here for details, or here for photos!

With the expanding cast for our autumn production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, we are planning to bring to town five more actors than last year. To do this, we need to find artist housing in the Germantown/Memphis area. Many of our hosts from last fall (like Ruth Dunning, pictured above with the cast) have generously offered to open their homes again to us, and we are most grateful.

Artist Hosts are not responsible for transporting or feeding their actor. All they need is a private bedroom and bathroom, with access to a kitchen. And they're a lot of fun! Ruth and our other hosts would be glad to tell you about their experiences.

If you are interested in housing one of our lovely performers for September 7 - October 25, please call Caroline at 901-759-0604, or e-mail tnshakespeare@gmail.com.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company is getting involved with our community at every level in an effort to have a greater impact on those around us.

We are partnering monthly with locally-owned restaurants during our Much Ado Monday Dinners. This is our way of supporting local businesses when they need it most.

We are also proud members of the Germantown Area Chamber of Commerce, ArtsMemphis, and Tennesseans for the Arts. All of these wonderful organizations have the pulse of what is happening in our city and state, and they believe as we do that our voices are made stronger when combined. We look forward to sharing more about these groups with you as our partnerships grow.