Dear future Julius Caesar audience member,

Here are a few surprises and discoveries for you from our all-woman Julius Caesar rehearsals at St. George's at the one-week mark:

* While the women don't stop the cycle of violence or even submit to personal transformation (like most Shakespeare characters), they are clearly feeling the actions of the violence differently - and responding differently than male casts,

* So much that is usually taken for granted as cold machination and male duty to unattainable "honor," is, with the women, unrepressed: making the deep love and psychological torment of the story's action palpable in our first explorations of the text,

* The story, defining the very meaning of "classical," is playing now with us as an alpha and omega timeline. Historic in its facts (B.C.E.), it is also presenting itself with our cast as a futuristic civilization. In that civilization, we are finding that humanity and governance might not be any better off with either gender in the majority. We are left to reason that only a closer equality of gender and culture might bring harmony to a state and world at war;

* The element of dance, while galvanic and ritualistic in the story-telling, often is finding a more eloquent or horrific or joyous way of articulating the heartbreak in the play.

We are playing with a classical Roman tale, acted in an Elizabethan seating configuration (in-the-round in Germantown City Hall), told in a Grecian form (chorus/ensemble), with a post post-modern view.

This is today. It may all change tomorrow. And it will certainly change by virtue of you being in the playing space with us.

All of which is to say, we imagine Shakespeare would be very proud. And we hope you will be, too, of your Shakespeare Company.

See you at City Hall.

- Dan

Tennessee Shakespeare Company's first all-female production is getting a lot of attention. Schools are booking Student Matinees (which are almost sold out!) and pre-show discussions for their students, and Germantown's Chamber of Commerce is hosting an event at City Hall in conjunction with the April 9 performance.

Check out our calendar of events for a full list of group and promotional nights.

And remember: every Sunday is a Free Will Kids Show! Up to four students age 17 and younger may be admitted for free with each paid adult. In addition, each Sunday will include a pre-show discussion starting at 1:15 pm, and after the show you can stay for a talk-back with the cast and director!

Call TSC's Box Office at (901) 759-0604 for tickets and details, click here to purchase now!

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."
- Twelfth Night

Graduation is a celebration, a moment to honor a life moving forward. By giving the gift of a Tennessee Shakespeare Company Summer Play Camp this year, you can extend that moment into an experience that never stops celebrating.

We invite students entering grades 5 through 8 and grades 9 through 12 to play outdoors and indoors with two unique Summer Play Camps at The Hutchison School:

The Play's the Thing
June 21-25, 2010 * Monday - Friday * 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

A one-week journey into the world of one of Shakespeare's plays with TSC's teaching artists. Daily lunch is provided and included in the tuition. Cost: $250.00 per student.

Young Players Training Institute
July 12-23, 2010 * Monday - Friday * 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Two weeks of fun intensity - Stage Combat, Dance, Text, Sceneplay, Movement, and Voice, all taught by TSC Company Members. Daily lunch is provided and included in the tuition. Cost: $500.00 per student.

To register, or to register your child, please call Amanda Killen at The Hutchison School at 901-507-2460 or e-mail akillen@hutchisonschool.org.

Thanks to all 100 guests who played with us at The Grove Grill in February! We had our first trivia team win, a sing-along with Kiss Me Kate, and music from Owen Tabor and Jason Hansen. Our winning team included: Jeannie, Owen, Sherman, Harry, and Virginia Tabor; and Wallace and Olivia Bruce. Their points, as with all players, will accumulate through the months to determine the final winner. Play soon and play often for the most points!

Interim Restaurant in Memphis will host our next Dinner on Monday, March 8. Iren Zombor, Assistant Principal cellist of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, will play a preview of the Bach and Kodaly sonatas you'll hear during TSC's Julius Caesar. We'll perform a scene or two from the production, and you may get the chance to play along! Click here for tickets.

Like last year, we'll start with music as you arrive at 6:00 pm - but then we'll play in an all new way!

During dinner, you and your table will test your Shakespeare knowledge as a team and compete to win great prizes! Topics range from the play and its history, to movies and music based on Shakespeare's works. Don't worry, you don't need to be an actor or an English major to compete or win. Everyone will know something at your table!

Margaret Wellford Tabor asks
"Why Shakespeare today?"
March 16, 5:30 - 7:00 pm
Memphis University School,
6191 Park Avenue
Wunderlich Auditorium, in the MUS Campus Center.

Using the Arden text of Julius Caesar, Margaret Wellford Tabor will explore the continuing relevance of Shakespeare's work today. Why is Shakespeare still produced more often than any other playwright 400 years after his writing? What, on a human level, do we connect to in his stories and characters' struggles? And what does he show us about ourselves?

Margaret Tabor has been a student of and an instructor of Shakespeare for a lifetime. She has taught at Memphis University School, Hutchison, and Rhodes College's Meeman Center. She is also a founding Board member of Tennessee Shakespeare Company.

Proceeds benefit Tennessee Shakespeare Company, and lecture attendees will receive a special discount offer to see the upcoming production of TSC's all-woman Julius Caesar in Germantown's City Hall, playing March 26 - April 11.

Seating is limited, and registration is required. Students of all ages are welcome. To participate, please mail a suggested $30 donation to TSC at P.O. Box 382143, Germantown, 38183-2143. For more information, you may call Margaret Tabor at (901) 482-7955.