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Shakespeare Finds a Home in Hackensack Park
By Katie O'Connell
June 18 and 25 marked the start of te Hackensack Cultural Arts Center's 2008 Shakespare in the Park series in Staib Park with the classic Twelfth Night.
About 70 people brought their lawn chairs to the free event, while the performers of the Hudson Shakespeare Company put on a lively show.
A backdrop of trees, the use of simple props and actors performing without any type of microphone or audio equipment transported the audience to a place that resembled Shakespeare's Renaissance era.
the audience only needed to imagine the lights placed on the ground that illuminated the actors as candlelight, and then the atmosphere was set for a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.
"There's nothing else like it around here,: said Gregory Liosi, Arts Director of the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center.
Liosi said that the Hudson Shakespeare Company performs in Fort Lee and in Hackensack, the only two localities in Bergen County.
He said the shows generally get a good crowd, but the weather and the play can play a part in how many attend. If there is rain, the shows are moved indoors to the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center.
"When we get to year 10, we're planning a huge blowout production. We're already preliminary stages of the planning," he said.
For now the next Shakespearian productions will be King John on July 16, followed by the last play, Julius Caesar on August 6 and 13.
There will be other productions this summer, including Scene Night by R-WAY Productions of the Maywood Dance Center during the month of July.
There will also be a free production entitled Original Works, presented by the Manhattan Theatre Organization that will also run in July.
Visit Hackensack.org or call 201-646-8042
