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Arts Playlist: Delaware Shakespeare's Summer Festival

Delaware Shakespeare Facebook page

Delaware Shakespeare fully returns to Rockwood Park in Wilmington for its annual summer festival - just in time to celebrate its 20th anniversary season

Delaware Shakespeare producing Artistic Director David Stradley joins Delaware Public Media’s Kelli Steele on Arts Playlist to discuss bring The Tempest to Rockwood and the 2022 season.

Delaware Public Media's Kelli Steele interviews Delaware Shakespeare's Producing Artistic Director David Stradley

Delaware Shakespeare expects its summer festival at Rockwood Park in Wilmington to ramp back up in 2022.

Del Shakes is planning to return to full production mode when it presents The Tempest this July.

“It is our 20th Anniversary of doing Shakespeare in Delaware," said David Stradley, Del Shakes producing artistic director. "And we’re really excited after a couple of years that we were at Rockwood Park the last two years - two summers - but in reduced form. Now, we’re glad to be back in full glory.”

Stradley will direct The Tempest during its July 15- 31 run - and notes it's the play that was scheduled for 2020 before COVID intervened.

He notes he is excited to have a full cast and crew to work with in 2022.

“We have a cast of 15 and we use 10 professional actors; people who are into their careers. The actor playing Prospero (the lead character) - he’s been an actor for 30-plus years. We use several seasoned professionals. But then we also have a college apprentice company of five area college students who play some of the smaller roles.”                                       

Stradley says the mix of professionals and apprentices produces a variety of ideas bouncing up against each other.

More information on the Delaware Shakespeare Summer Festival and its 2022 season is available at the Del Shakes website.

Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.