By Sandra Abdelmalak/Garden Grove Journal
Being selected for the unique opportunity to perform in Prague, Shakespeare Orange County presented the Shakespearean poem, “Venus and Adonis,” at the 2012 Praha Fringe Festival this past June.
Using the dialogue that is inherent within what was originally an erotic poem about a goddess attempting to seduce a young hunter, SOC collaborated with the Prague Shakespeare Festival to adapt “Venus and Adonis” into a theatrical setting.
“It is a stunning, wry, poignant, erotic poem laden with theatricality, irony, passion and pathos that is seldom, if ever, performed as a theatrical presentation,” said Thomas F. Bradac, the director.
The performance featured Evelyn Carol Case, Michael Nehring, Michael D. Fountain, Misha Bouvion, Alyssa Bradac and Amanda Zarr with costume design by Kathryn Wilson and tech support from Caitlin Volz, Caitlin Bradac, and Jim Volz and Anne Barolet.
“We made it a contemporary event,” said Bradac. “War is a sub theme of the poem and we exploited that in the text.”
With a combination of Shakespearean text and a contemporary style, The Prague Post, English Language Newspaper hailed “Venus and Adonis” as “a nonstop barrage of Shakespearean force.”
Not only was this poem performed in Prague, but for a limited time it will also be playing this season at the Festival Amphitheatre in Garden Grove from Aug. 10 to 11 at 8:15 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.shakespeareoc.org or by calling the box office at (714) 590-1575.
“Venus and Adonis” by Shakespeare Orange County
