April 15, 2019 —
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest will appear at the Port Plaza in August 2019 in a series of performances sponsored by OLY ARTS and OLYMPIA HARBOR DAYS. The production team has now announced a director for the production, as well as a lead actor in the role of Prospero, the magician.
“The Tempest team is happy to announce that Brian Tyrrell will star as Prospero in this production,” said Hayes. “Tyrrell is a former repertory member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and is one of the region’s most renowned stage actors.”
Tyrrell earned his MFA in Theatre from Purdue University. Brian recently retired from Centralia College where he taught/directed for 25 years. He’s the recipient of the Gold Medallion from the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival for years of service to the Northwest Drama Conference. He’s the co-founder of the Northwest Playwright’s Alliance at the Seattle Repertory Theatre and has acted as an assistant director at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle. As an actor his work has been seen at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and on tour with the National Shakespeare Company in New York.
“The Tempest team is overjoyed that to direct a stellar cast, we’ve also chosen a stellar director,” said Hayes. “Kate Ayers is a nationally ranked playwright and director whom we are fortunate to have in Olympia.”
Playwright, director and actor, Ayers has appeared in multiple national and international tours. She was the co-founder of the Indianapolis Children’s Theatre and has created educational theater programs in prisons, museums and theaters in multiple locations nationwide. Her plays have appeared on over 300 stages across the nation, and La Casa Azul, her musical based on the life of Frida Kahlo, is currently casting for its National Premiere this summer. Ms. Ayers ran the Theater Program at the Indiana Women’s Prison for 10 years, studied at the Goodman Theatre School, and graduated from Columbia (Directing). The Tempest production is overjoyed to have Ayers as director.
Additional cast and crew will be announced after open auditions in May 2019. Director Ayers encourages actors of varying backgrounds and theatrical experience to audition for the production.
A technical team will be announced in a future press announcement.
More information about the production, including upcoming audition information and information about production dates can be found at TheTempestOlympia.com