Brave Spirits Theatre

Epic Shakespeare's Histories Enterprise
Resurrected as You Tube Audio Production

Brave Spirits Theatre's ambitious staging of Shakespeare's eight-play War of the Roses history cycle—interrupted by Covid and the theater's subsequent closure—has been resurrected as an online audio production.

The Alexandria, Virginia, theater company launched the project in 2019, staging the first three plays—Richard II and the two parts of Henry IV—and made it to opening night of Henry V when the productions were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Brave Spirits itself shuttered all operations later that year.

Artistic Director Charlene V. Smith, who put years of creative effort into her Shakespeare's Histories enterprise, never gave up on bringing it to full fruition and created audio performances with much of the original casts. The productions will be streamed in 24 episodes for free on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_kCby9TwdJI53OR0C4KCsH7tnTD4yI4G Episodes will be released Mondays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. (Eastern) as follows:

• Richard The Second, Thursday, October 17
• Henry the Fourth, Part 1, Monday October 21
• Henry the Fourth, Part 2, Thursday, October 24
• Henry the Fifth, Monday, October 28
• Henry the Sixth, Part 1, Monday, November 4
• Henry the Sixth, Part 2, Thursday, November 7
• Henry the Sixth, Part 3, Monday, November 11
• Richard the Third, Thursday, November 14

The company has spent the past three years reimagining their original theatrical work as audio dramas. All told, the streamed aural production will run 16 hours. Audiences can gather in the chat for each live premiere or stream the episodes later at their own convenience.

The Shakespeare's Histories is directed by Smith with Patrick Flynn as recording producer and editor.

The acting company for Shakespeare's Histories is Mikey Bannigan, Zach Brewster-Geisz, Jordan Brown, Dean Carlson, Jacqueline Chenault, Gary DuBreuil, Brianna Goode, Lisa Hill-Corley, Thomas Howley, Caroline Johnson, Brendan Edward Kennedy, Annette Mooney, Victoria Reinsel, Duane Richards, Jillian Riti, Ian Blackwell Rogers, Nicole Ruthmarie, Charlene V. Smith, John Stange, Molly E. Thomas, and Joshua Williams. The composer and music director is Jordan Friend. The dialect coach is Jenna Berk. The production manager is Lisa Hill-Corley. The stage manager is Jen Katz. Marshall B Garrett and Claire Kimball serve as dramaturgs and directors, and dramaturgy is also provided by Liam Thomas Daley.

The audio recordings of Shakespeare's Histories were made possible through funding from the Nora Roberts Foundation, the City of Alexandria, the Morgan Fund at the Seattle Foundation, the Virginia Commision for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Though Brave Spirits Theatre has ceased operations, these audio productions will commemorate both the artistry of the Histories team as well as the company's 10 years of operation.

For more information and an archive of Brave Spirit's work, visit www.bravespiritstheatre.com/.

October 13, 2024

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