Lake City Playhouse to present 'The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)'

COEUR d'ALENE — Three local actors will be working hard for the Bard when they light up the Lake City Playhouse stage with "The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)," opening at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11.

The cast will attempt to perform all of Shakespeare's 37 plays in 97 minutes, creating quite the spectacle for audiences to behold.

“It’s a controlled trainwreck,” said cast member Thomas Gandy, who will be joined by castmates Donivan Floyd and Abe McKinney.

"The script is kind of like the Pirates' Code, it's merely a loose guideline," Gandy said, chuckling.

With improvisation woven throughout, the show is designed to keep audiences guessing whether the actors are staying true to their lines or enjoying spontaneous moments of comedy and theater gold.

"I haven't been able to play this much without any strict rules in a long time," Gandy said. "Somebody drops one little nugget of an idea and it snowballs into this giant thing. We make each other break constantly."

Shakespeare's plays span the gamut of human emotions and motivations, with themes of love, tragedy, betrayal, humor and beyond. His works include comedies such as "Much Ado About Nothing" and "The Comedy of Errors" and tragedies including "Romeo and Juliet" and "Othello."

"The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)" has a smattering of everything, with some quick costumes and props galore.

Director Tracey Benson said the idea behind the show is the actors are part of a traveling troupe with a shoestring budget.

"They're just trying to put on a show, have some reverence for the Bard in some cases or just be an actor in some cases," she said. "They've thrown it together, it's a hodgepodge of whatever they can find."

Floyd said he is looking forward to the improv aspect of this play.

"The joy of the show is the fact that in the past when I've done certain productions, I tend to get myself in trouble because I like to push what I'm allowed to do — not too much but something to get a couple laughs," he said. "In this show, it's pretty much free game. It's been so much fun."

McKinney said he doesn't have a background in Shakespeare, but a good friend of his who knows Shakespeare read the script and said it was hilarious.

"Knowing nothing about Shakespeare, I still thought it was some of the funniest stuff I'd ever read," he said. "It just really shows that this show appeals to everyone, Shakespearean or not."

The show runs through Oct. 27. Tickets range from $27-$30.

Info: lakecityplayhouse.org

    Actor Abe McKinney hugs a tome of William Shakespeare's works during rehearsal Tuesday.
  

    Thomas Gandy, left, and Donivan Floyd are deep in character Tuesday as they rehearse for "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," opening Friday, Oct. 11 at Lake City Playhouse.