Tri-State Actors Theater announces 2005 season

SUSSEX— "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream," which strings together three different Shakespeare romantic comedies, will open the Tri-State Actors Theater 2005 season at the Crescent Theater in Sussex, March 30-April 17 including five student matinees, 11 a.m., March 31, April 6, 7, 13, and 14. The first Shakespeare story, about the Athenian gentry, at first focuses on the upcoming marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. The craftsmen's story, the second in the plot, is introduced to the play and relates back to the gentry because these men have been asked to put on a play as entertainment during the marriage festivities. The third story centers on the world of the fairies, which wander in and out of the first two stories, interacting with both the humans of the gentry and the humans of the working class. The play ends in comedy, when true love prevails and three couples are happily united. School groups can call 875-2950 for discount information and reservations. Tri-State's 2005 season includes the New Plays Reading Series, where scripts are developed by the author through presentation and audience feedback, and several special events and fund-raisers. Subscription and single ticket information is available at www.tristateactorstheater.org or by obtaining a brochure by sending a stamped, self-addressed, return business envelope to Tri-State Actors Theater, P.O. Box 7225, Sussex, N.J. 07461. "A Mid-Summer Night" is followed by "Grace & Glorie," by Tom Ziegler, a story of life and death, and the courage to face both, May 18-June 5. Equity actors, Anne Barclay and Clodagh Bowyer, are Grace and Glorie in this show. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Proof," by David Auburn, will run July 6-24. A mystery and love story, "Proof" is filled with revealing truths, surprises, and unexpected laughter. Tri-State's Student Intern Company will perform in "Narnia," a musical based on C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," Aug. 3-13. The program, in its 18th season, trains students interested in hands-on learning about theater. Conor McPherson's "The Wier," Sept. 14-Oct. 2, begins with a visit to a pub where the local lads are swapping spooky stories. It soon turns out to be an evening of both funny and spellbinding tales, until the final tale takes a strange and unexpected twist. The season closes with Christopher Schario's "A Christmas Carol," Dec. 7-23. and follows the story of miserly old Scrooge and focuses on Charles Dickens's powerful language, humor and warmth. Tri-State Actors Theater is a non-profit, professional theater company founded in 1988 and funded in part by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by a donation from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. For information, call 875-2950; or visit www.tristateactorstheater.org