Shakespeare Royal Oak announces 25th Anniversary Fundraiser and Season
Shakespeare Royal Oak Celebrates 25 Years with Fundraiser, Friday June 6 at the Royal Oak Historical Society Museum
ROYAL OAK, MI (May 21, 2025)
Shakespeare Royal Oak will celebrate their 25th season with a historic fundraiser Friday, June 6 from 6pm to 9pm at the Royal Oak Historical Society Museum. The event will feature a special exhibit of local artists' curated work from backstage, masks, photos, art, banners and more from the theatre company's 25 seasons of professional theatre in Starr Jaycee Park.Tickets for this art opening and fundraiser gala are $40 for the fundraiser, $65 for the fundraiser and a ticket to Shakespeare Royal Oak's 2025 summer production of
Macbeth, and $130 for the fundraiser and two tickets to Macbeth. Tickets are available in advance at ShakespeareRoyalOak.comand will be available on the night of the event at the Royal Oak Historical Society Museum located at 1411 W. Webster Rd in Royal Oak.Shakespeare Royal Oak's 25th Season
For its vanguard 25th Season, Shakespeare Royal Oak will present a devilishly original streampunk-style
Macbeth from visionary Detroit director Jeffrey Michael Nahan, with all the spirited spells, plots, and revenge the Bard could conjure up right in the middle of Starr Jaycee Park, July 24 through August3. Steampunk Macbeth will fill your eyes and mind with its unique style, music, and moves to keep you guessing until you cheer its glorious end! So, stab your calendar now to plan your night under the stars with the area’s best professional theatre artists as they reveal the plot of Shakespeare’s finest villain in one of the most feared and loved plays of all time. Tickets for Macbeth will go on sale on Friday, June 13 at ShakespeareRoyalOak.comShakespeare Royal Oak Education Programs
“One of the most lasting things we’ve created at Shakespeare Royal Oak is our fabulous education curriculum,” states SRO founder and executive director Ed Nahhat. “Since 2002, our students have gotten a top-notch affordable experience in the park, while parents get to see their children perform this incredible work, and we have built a legacy. Several of our KidsAct! and Teen Ensemble participants have gone on to work with us to teach, act, and work with other area theatres professionally, and that makes us so proud.”
SRO Teen Ensemble
During the two-week
SRO Teen Ensemble Program, high school students delve into character development, explore safe stage combat and sword fighting techniques, prepare costume designs, and learn all aspects of presenting a Shakespearean production. This summer, participants will be staging their own production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.The
SRO Teen Ensemble Program will run July 15-26 for students entering grades 9-12, with three public performances on the Starr Jaycee Park stage at 7pm July 27, 28, and 29. All students registered for the program will be in the production. An optional pre-audition workshop will be held Monday, June 9,4 p.m. - 7 p.m. (Royal Oak Admin Building) before auditions. Auditions will be held Monday, June 16, 4p.m. - 7 p.m. (Royal Oak Admin Building). Students who register for the program will be sent the link for the audition Signup Genius to select an audition time slot and more detailed information. All students who register will also receive an invitation to attend the optional (but recommended) pre-audition workshop. Students may also attend as technical students (non-actor) and will be given theatrical technical training in stage management, sound design, dramaturgy, and choreography. Students wishing to do both will be given the opportunity to do so. Tuition is $360 per student with registration available online atShakespeareRoyalOak.com/education.KidsAct!
For students entering grades 1-8,
Shakespeare Royal Oak is proud to offer KidsAct! July 28 - August1. with a public performance on Saturday, August 2 at 11am. During this six-day program, students get the absolute joy of learning Shakespeare soliloquies, safe sword fighting, stage combat, as well as improv skills and movement from area theatre professionals. KidsAct! tuition is $260 per student with registration available now online at ShakespeareRoyalOak.com/education.###
Media Notes:
Interviews are available with Shakespeare Royal Oak directors, staff, and members of the casts. Media are welcome to cover the June 6 Let's Make History fundraiser, and passes are available for the 7:30pm,Friday, July 25th performance of
Macbeth. To request an interview or press passes or for more information, contact Scott Myers atAbout Shakespeare Royal Oak
Since 2001 Water Works Theatre Company, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) company, has presented Shakespeare Royal Oak and other award-winning productions. Shakespeare Royal Oak enhances the quality of life in its community by offering Michigan's premier outdoor professional Shakespeare event in Royal Oak's Starr Jaycee Park. The company provides a place to call home for local professional actors, designers, directors, teachers, and other artists in a dynamic collaboration with skilled volunteers and other community supporters. More information including how to support Shakespeare Royal Oak is available at:
www.shakespeareroyaloak.com