These days, many of our entertainment outlets ask us to sit down inside. After all, watching television, playing video games, and even reading our favorite novels are usually solitary, indoor activities. We might sometimes go out with our friends to see a movie or go to a concert, but the time has seemingly passed when our entertainment required us to leave the house. This is all the more reason to check out the grand opening of the Lake Walk Town Center’s newest event, Shakes on the Lake! The inaugural season begins this summer with a production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”
There will be four different performances of “The Tempest” over the next month, all of them at 8:00 p.m.: Friday, July 19, Saturday, July 20, Friday, August 2, and Saturday, August 3 at the Lake Walk Pavilion. This run is directed by none other than Andrew Roblyer, a Texas A&M alum who has made a name for himself in the B/CS theater community. Aside from graduating with a degree in theater arts, Roblyer was the founder and artistic director of BCS’s This is Water Theatre for five years, where he produced 12 full-length plays and a number of shorter works.
William Shakespeare likely needs no introduction. But just in case you need a refresher from your high-school English classes, Shakespeare was a playwright and poet in Elizabethan England; his world-renowned works have since been performed all across the globe and translated into hundreds of different languages. He personally invented countless words and phrases in English that we still repeat today; the words “bedazzle,” “disheartened,” and “cold-blooded” all originally appeared in written form in one of Shakespeare’s plays. He wrote the shipwreck story of “The Tempest” late in his career, and it contains all of the hallmarks of its writer’s style: love, betrayal, and an engaging plot told with unforgettable wit and a creative use of the English language.
Located within the ATLAS campus, the Lake Walk Town Center is, according to their website, “a comfortably upscale, thoughtful but lively collection of regional dining, hospitality, retail and wellness offerings.” That they are hosting Shakes on the Lake is no surprise, considering their focus on providing the B/CS community with unique opportunities for the arts to flourish. The first performance of “The Tempest” will be Friday, July 19, and the price of entry is absolutely free!
Make sure to come by to support your local artists and performers and enjoy one of English literature’s most classic stories at a venue backed by the beautiful lake! The Pavilion does not have seating, so bring a blanket or lawn chair. For more information, check the event page online: http://bit.ly/2NFIWla
