This summer I’ve been back in Maine at the Heartwood Regional Theater Company, rehearsing Shakespeare’s The Tempest. We open this Friday!
I get to play King Alonso of Naples of Milan, who with his nobleman, must battle storms, harpies and lingering melancholy while they search for Ferdinand – the young heir to the throne. Little does Alonso know that his old arch-rival, Prospero, is is full control of all these maladies.
Not only is the show truly delightful to be a part of – with all it’s heartbreak, love and fantasy – but it’s just great being back in Damariscotta so soon after Our Town! Griff Braley is directing again and this time the cast features so many old and dear faces: Diana Jurand, Jay Pastucha, Deirdre Manning, Jason Osorio and Patrick Sylvester! I wonder if so many UCF alums have ever been in a show together after college? Of course the cast is more stacked than that with Helena Farhi, Steve Shema, Steven Czajkowski, Jahmeel Powers and Sebastian LaPointe.
So here we are about to tell this magical story, the last of old Billy Shakes, while the sea beats on not eight miles from here, against the timeless rocks.
VINCENT HANNAM 