CONWAY — Many of the players will be wearing masks in the 2015 Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre season, set to begin Thursday and continue through June 28 in several locations throughout the state.
The season will feature three plays by William Shakespeare — The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It — as well as the musical, Fiddler on the Roof, with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and book by Joseph Stein.
“Each of these plays raises questions about identity and examines the masks we wear as we go through life,” said Rebekah Scallet of Little Rock, AST producing artistic director. “Each of these plays has a really strong central character who is struggling with identity issues.
“Some put on masks for others to see; some put on masks to hide their true selves,” she said.
“Falstaff in Merry Wives views himself as a romantic lover while the rest of the world sees him only as a buffoon,” Scallet said. “Shylock in Merchant must navigate his Jewish identity in a world that is hostile to his religion. Rosalind in As You Like It disguises herself as a boy and better understands her true nature and the nature of love in the process. And Tevye in Fiddler must come to terms with what it means to be a traditional man in an increasingly modern world.”
A number of actors return for this year’s performances while others are making their first appearances. Both local and national actors are among this year’s cast.
Among the returning performers are Courtney Bennett and Matthew Duncan, both University of Central Arkansas graduates, and Dan Matisa, who is making his eighth appearance with the theater company.
Bennett, of Little Rock, graduated from UCA in Conway in 2007. There, she majored in theater and minored in interdisciplinary studies. She is a professional actor based in Little Rock.
She has studied in New York City and Italy “but I’m home now,” she said.
“There are now so many theater companies in the area that I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a break since last July,” she said.
Bennett appears as Rosalind in As You Like It. Rosalind is described as “independent-minded, strong-willed, good-hearted and terribly clever.” A daughter of Duke Senior, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man and offers to tutor her beloved Orlando in the ways of romance.
Bennett also portrays Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Mistress Ford, along with Mistress Page, receives a seductive letter from Falstaff and the two wives of Windsor decide to lead him on and ruin him.
“This is my fourth season with AST,” Bennett said.
“I’m having the best time this year,” she said with a smile. “I’m in two comedies. I’m most comfortable doing comedy. It’s a little harder to do drama.”
Bennett said she learns “something new” every year at the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre.
“They let you take the time to explore the works,” she said. “Shakespeare has a lot of vagueness. I get to learn new things; I get to try new things. I learn something from the directors and from my fellow actors every time I participate in this festival.
“I grow here,” Bennett said. “Everyone else around me is so excellent; that forces me to go beyond what I usually do.
“The two characters I play are so exciting, so deep, so interesting … but they are flawed characters.”
Duncan, of Bentonville, graduated from UCA in 2012 with a double major in English and theater.
He is back in northwest Arkansas, where he has started an independent theater company called The Paradise Explored Theatre Co. with three other UCA graduates — Brady Ness of Conway, Levi Horne of Jessieville and Bradley Mancil of Harrison.
“We produced our first show in November 2014,” he said. “It’s going well for us. We don’t have a building. We call ourselves ‘itinerants.’”
Duncan appears as Jacques, a faithful lord who accompanies Duke Senior into exile, in As You Like It.
In The Merry Wives, Duncan portrays Caius, the local doctor, and Bardolph, one of Falstaff’s men who takes over as the bartender of the Garter Inn in order to pay for Falstaff’s entourage’s room and board.
Duncan, who has been a part of the annual festival for several years, said participating in this year’s AST season is “like a family reunion just with added members.”
“This was the first professional festival I worked with,” he said. “It’s very dear to me.”
During a visit on the first day of the second week of rehearsals for As You Like It, Duncan said he was “pretty close” to being off-book, meaning he had most of his lines memorized.
“All the people who are off-book … they are inspiring.
“The local talent is the cream of the crop,” he said with a smile.
Matisa, of New York City, is returning as an actor in two of this year’s plays. However, this marks his directorial debut with the festival; he is directing The Merry Wives of Windsor.
“Merry Wives is a very funny, fast-paced, hilarious show,” Matisa said. “It’s the outdoors show of the festival. We’re presenting it at The Village at Hendrix and at the Argenta Farmers’ Market in North Little Rock. Bring the whole family; bring a picnic. Sit out under the stars and have a great time.”
Matisa said The Merry Wives of Windsor is set in the “idealized 1950s, Father Knows Best” time period “when women were expected to stay at home … in their perfect houses surrounded by their perfect white picket fences.”
“But not all is perfect,” Matisa said. “Something else is stirring underneath it all.”
Matisa also plays Shylock, the Jewish moneylender, in The Merchant of Venice and Nachum in the ensemble of Fiddler on the Roof.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Matisa has traveled across the globe developing his career as an actor; he has appeared in movies and film as well as on the theatrical stage. He settled in New York City in 1999.
It was during his first season at AST in 2007 that he met his fiancée, Taylor Galloway of Maumelle, who is a graduate of UCA. Galloway is also participating in this year’s festival; she plays Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice and is in the ensemble in Fiddler on the Roof.
Matisa and Galloway plan a Dec. 19 wedding at the Junior League House in North Little Rock. Following the festival this summer, they will relocate to Emporia, Kansas, where
Matisa will join the full-time faculty of Emporia State University as an assistant professor of theater.
For more information on Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre or to purchase tickets online, visit arkshakes.com. Tickets may also be purchased by calling (866) 810-0012.