The Roanoke College Performing Arts Series Presents The American Shakespeare Center with “The Winter’s Tale” on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 7:30pm in Roanoke College’s Olin Theater. Tickets are $12 general admission, $8 for Seniors (55+), Students, and Children. Groups of 8 or more can reserve tickets for $5 each.

Tickets are available from the Roanoke College Olin Box Office by calling 540-375-2333 or going online to www.roanoke.edu/tickets. The box office is open Monday – Friday 1-4pm, closed school breaks and holidays.

The Staunton-based American Shakespeare Company on Tour will present The Winter’s Tale.  Shakespeare’s magnificent late play is a roller-coaster ride from romance to tragedy to comedy and finally to a place of transcendent beauty that few other works of art have ever gone. “A sad tale’s best for winter,” says Hermione’s young son – but after unleashing a wintry tempest onto his characters, Shakespeare ultimately conjures spring’s miraculous rebirth.

Direct from the stage of the American Shakespeare Center’s celebrated Blackfriars Playhouse, the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre, the American Shakespeare Center On Tour boasts nearly two decades worth of global touring experience. This elite troupe stands as one of America’s foremost providers of quality entertainment to performing and fine arts centers on both sides of the Atlantic.

The American Shakespeare Center On Tour’s road shows strive to re-create the Blackfriars Playhouse experience at venues across the globe. ASC On Tour productions recognize that the actors are not alone in the theatre, and actively shatter the “fourth wall” between actors and audience. As they do on their home stage, ASC On Tour actors on the road double roles in a performance space unencumbered with the trappings of modern theatre, surround themselves with audience members on three sides and perform with house lights on at all times. Thus, actors can see the audience, the audience can see the actors, and, most importantly, the audience can see each other. This inclusive arrangement allows the ASC On Tour to recreate the festive sense of community in which patrons of Shakespeare’s Blackfriars reveled during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Rather than try to spin its tales through elaborate set pieces and electronic wizardry, the American Shakespeare Center On Tour focuses on performance, casting the finest actors, singers, and musicians available at auditions held throughout the country.

“We scour the country for the right 10-12 actors to perform all these roles in all of these plays,” said ASC Artistic Director Jim Warren. “Not only are we looking for the right talent to do these shows in true rotating repertory (a great lost joy in today’s theatre world), but we’re also looking for personalities we think will gel into a dynamic, well-balanced ensemble on and off the stage. On top of all of that, we’re also looking for singers and musicians because we perform all of our music live and unplugged; join us for our pre-show a half-hour before show time for some musical treats.

Submitted by Roanoke College Box Office