They are headed to the Minnesota Fringe Festival this summer. THE TRAVELING PLAYERS, based in the Chicago area, began as an inspiration of some actors and artists from Augsburg College and Shakespeare & Company, a repertory outdoor summer theater in White Bear Lake, MN. Our goal is to take a similar approach to Shakespeare, presenting a family-friendly production that does not exhaust attention spans. We present plays without an intermission in an outdoor setting and carefully cut them to run about an hour. The Traveling Players' productions encompass a style of presentation that emulates Shakespeare’s time. The minimal set design, contemporary costumes, limited amplification, live contemporary music and close proximity to audience members are an attempt to give a modern audience something akin to what Shakespeare’s own audiences may have experienced. Add to that a healthy dose of irreverence and modern sensibility from our collaborative artists and actors, and you have The Traveling Players’ brand of theater. Taken from the book All the World’s a Stage, by Michael Bender, the term, “The Traveling Players” describes the two-year period in Shakespeare’s life when London theaters closed to stop the spread of the Plague, and he and his fellow actors packed a wagon and traveled across the English countryside performing.
