A&S Senior Performs in “Shakespeare in the Park” Through September 17 at Centennial Park

Miranda Pepin, an Arts and Science senior and the HART department’s work study student,  is currently performing in the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s signature program, “Shakespeare in the Park,” Thursday through Sunday evenings,  now until September 17, at Centennial Park’s bandshell.

Pepin will play Dorcas, a shepherdess in love with a clown, in A Winter’s Tale, and Dercetas, a soldier of Antony’s in Antony and Cleopatra.  “The two plays are fascinating romances—Antony and Cleopatra beginning as a comedy and ending as a tragedy, The Winter’s Tale starting as a tragedy and ending as a comedy,” said Denice Hicks, the festival’s executive artistic director. “These shows complement each other in ways that will make seeing both of them rewarding.”

Active in Vanderbilt University Theatre since she was a first-year student playing Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing, Pepin also was in Othello and served as stage manager for A Shaya Maidel last fall.  Right after “Shakespeare in the Park” performances come to an end, Pepin will begin rehearsals as The Stepdaughter in Vanderbilt University Theatre’s adaptation of Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author.  A classic work of the absurdist genre, the play opens on November 3.

Pepin is majoring in physics with minors in theatre and scientific computing.  “The communication skills I’ve learned in the theatre are extremely helpful when I am presenting my research projects related to the sciences,” Pepin said.  “I hope to go into both theatre and computer programming when I graduate.”

Check the festival’s season calendar for specific dates for The Winter’s Tale and Antony and Cleopatra.  “Shakespeare in the Park” is free and open to the public, with a $10 per person suggested donation. On performance evenings, food and beverage vendors will open at 6 pm, pre-show entertainment will begin at 6:30 pm, and the performance will start at 7:30 pm.  A limited number of royal packages are available for those who would like a VIP experience.

Vanderbilt University and Barnes & Noble at Vanderbilt are among the longtime sponsors of Shakespeare in the Park, which is marking its 29th season.  The festival also will return to Williamson County for its second annual Shakespeare in the Park in Academy Park September 28–October 1.

For more information, visit Shakespeare in the Park or call 615-255-2273.