Partnership with The Max offers series of Shakespearean events
The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre will present âSounds and Sweet Airesâ as its first installment of Experience Shakespeare at the Max on Friday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m., at The Max Event Venue, 1007 Spencer Street in downtown Conway.Â
The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (AST) will also reveal the 2023 AST season. Event tickets are $20 and can be purchased on the AST .
âExperience Shakespeare at The Maxâ is a series of fun, interactive and insightful events aimed at exploring the magic behind Shakespeareâs poetry and theatrical craft. The first installment will explore the musicality of Shakespeareâs work. The Max is a state-of-the-art facility that will allow Shakespeareâs plays to be reviewed with top-quality sound, video and multimedia.
âShakespeareâs plays are not only full of gorgeous verse and prose but have inspired original music for hundreds of years. We will hear live music and stories from the stage from some amazing artists including Aidan OâReilly, Steven Marzolf, Betsy Jilka and a special surprise remote performance from one of our favorite AST alums who is now performing on Broadway in New York City!â said ASTâs Managing Director Chad Bradford, who will also serve as event emcee.Â
Aidan OâReilly is a Shakespearean actor with credits from all over the world including Prague Shakespeare in the Czech Republic and the American Shakespeare Center, the worldâs only re-creation of Shakespeareâs indoor theater. OâReilly has played the title role in âRichard III,â the Fool in âKing Learâ and Caliban in âThe Tempest.â OâReilly is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and his new album of piano-driven blues and jazz songs inspired by Shakespeareâs work will drop in the coming months.
Steven Marzolf is currently the head of undergraduate acting at the University of Arkansas. He has worked with some of the top professionals in the country such as Richard Dreyfuss, Bruce Vilanch, Patrick Page, Darko Trejnak and Adrian Noble. Some of his regional acting credits include The Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Theatresquared, Trike Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Notre Dame Summer Shakes and Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where he was a part of the original production of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning play âAugust: Osage County.â He holds a Master of Fine Arts in acting from The Old Globe Theatre/University of San Diego Professional Actor Training Program.
Betsy Jilka is an actress, teacher, singer and musician. She has taught at the University of Arkansas since August 2017. She has performed professionally in New York, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. A few of her favorite regional credits include Ruth in “Dessa Rose” at the Fourth Wall Theatre and Charwoman and Fred’s Wife in “A Christmas Carol” at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. She has also sung regionally for Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra. Jilka has performed in various roles regionally and locally. At Theatresquared, she was seen in “Rabbit Hole,” “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” and “A Christmas Carol.” She has performed with Trike Theatre of Bentonville, in “Peter Pan,â âTurning Red,â and âA Year With Frog and Toad,” which toured to Indianapolis and Notre Dame, Indiana. Additional local credits include “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (NWA Shakespeare) and “The Soldier’s Tale” (Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in music and a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the University of Arkansas, as well as training in musical theatre from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
ABOUT ARKANSAS SHAKESPEARE THEATRE
Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is the stateâs only professional Shakespeare company and makes its home on the University of Central Arkansas campus. Each summer, AST offers full productions of Shakespeareâs works, as well as other plays and musicals that help fulfill ASTâs mission to entertain, engage and enrich the community.
