Our popular Summer Shakespeare program returns with the Bard’s Taming of the Shrew.  Get ready for Shakespeare's madcap comedy of wiving and thriving, taunting and taming. This battle of the sexes becomes an all out war of words, wits and wills. It is a story of matchmaking involving two sisters (a maiden and a shrew) and a host of suitors, scholars, and servants. There will be masking and unmasking, music and dancing, and eventually....harmony!

    This engaging hands-on theatre program with director Nancy Ponturo will incorporate acting, dance, and voice. As they prepare for their performances, students will become more familiar with the intricacies of the Shakespearean language, garner a sound knowledge of the text, and get a glimpse into life in Elizabethan times. We aim to stimulate the students’ imaginations through an innovative approach to classical material.

Director Nancy Ponturo is back for her tenth production at New Pond Farm. She is a professional actor who has appeared in films, television and many Off-Broadway productions. She is also the Artistic Director of the Young Connecticut Playwrights Festival. She has directed at the American Globe Theatre in NYC and the Rich Forum in Stamford and this spring she will be directing “Hamlet” at Joel Barlow High School. Also returning will be enthusiastic Enrichment Director Julia Levo. Julia has taught creative dramatics as well as acting workshops, to all ages, and currently is the Education Director for the American Globe Theatre's Shakespeare for Schools Program in New York City. She has her Masters Degree from Cornell University where she studied acting, speech, voice and stage combat.  She has appeared in many Off-Broadway productions, at the Edinburgh Festival, and in film, television and commercials. Production Coordinator Hollis Barickman will round out our team. A masterful costumer, this will be Hollis’s fourth year working on costumes and props at New Pond Farm. She has also worked on costumes for many productions at both John Read Middle School and Joel Barlow High School, including Into the Woods and Once On This Island.