Commonwealth Shakespeare Brings 'Love' to Titus Sparrow Park

You needn’t be a Shakespeare aficionado to appreciate the programming that Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has to offer.

This is especially true with regards to its touring Apprentice Program productions, one of which will be performing this Wednesday evening in , right here in the South End.

“There are actually two touring productions – ‘Shakespeare On Love’ and ‘A Shakespearean Cabaret’,” said Commonwealth Shakespeare Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler. For Wednesday night's show--opening night of a 12-park jaunt--the Summer Apprentice Academy will be performing “Shakespeare On Love."

“Both pieces are meant to introduce audiences that may know little about Shakespeare to some of the great scenes and characters from the canon,” he said, noting that CSC has done both productions before and, in the case of ‘On Love,’ with a different set of scenes.

Antonio Ocampo-Guzman, the Director of the Summer Apprentice Program is staging ‘Shakespeare on Love’ and is tuning it to the particular talents of this year's group of apprentices. Maler himself is directing the cabaret.

In just 15 years, Commonwealth Shakespeare has evolved into something of a Bostonian institution. Straight out of the gate, its 1996 production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” won the Elliot Norton Award for Best Direction.

Two years later, CSC launched its internship program. In 2005, to accommodate growing crowds, the Shakespeare on the Common series was relocated from the Parkman Bandstand to the Parade Ground.

The Company then celebrated its ten year anniversary in the summer of 2006 by setting a personal best, attracting over 100,000 patrons over twenty performances of “The Taming of the Shrew.”

Most recently, CSC is looking to build on the initiative begun with its internship program, engaging more young actors with professional opportunities.

“The Apprentice Program is in its second year in this iteration,” Maler said. It's a  full ten week course of classes designed for aspiring theater professionals between 14 and 18 years of age.

“We’ve always had young artists working with CSC, but over the last two years, we’ve formalized this engagement in what will soon be seen as one of the top summer training opportunities for young actors," he added. "The participants are selected through a rigorous audition process and come from all over the U.S.”

In addition to the Apprentice Program, the Company is eager to expand both its educational initiatives and performance schedule. This year a four-week program for high school students was added, and next summer CSC will launch a teacher training program.

Beyond all else, the idea is to spread as much Shakespeare around as possible.

“We’re determined to bring Shakespeare to every neighborhood of Boston,” Maler enthused. “We look for parks where a strong community connection to the space already exists, which helps get the word out more easily about the performances. From a technical point of view, we need power and a space that is conducive to performance."

The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Summer Academy will perform “Shakespeare On Love” Wednesday evening, June 29, at 6:30 p.m. in Titus Sparrow Park. Admission is free. Be sure to see this summer’s CSC production of “All's Well That Ends Well” on the Boston Common, also free of charge, from July 27-August 14. Visit the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company website for more info.