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Center Valley, PA: June 27, 2024—Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (PSF) will host its 2nd annual Community Day on Saturday, July 6, 2024 sponsored by Air Products and B. Braun. The event will take place in and surrounding the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts on the idyllic campus of DeSales University.
PSF’s Community Day will celebrate the arts as well as the many local organizations that provide invaluable services to this community. Jason King Jones, PSF’s Artistic Director, shares his enthusiasm, saying, “We’re excited to team-up with local businesses to bring you a fun-filled day of live performances, great food, and activities for the whole family.”
A classic car cruise-in kicks off the event from 8am to noon, followed by a variety of performances throughout the day including PSF’s “Play On!” Community Tour of The Comedy of Errors which will be free to attend; and ticketed performances of Winnie-the-Pooh & Friends featuring live music and life-sized puppets in the Schubert Theatre; and Shakespeare’s comedic suburban romp The Merry Wives of Windsor on the Main Stage. There will also be a ticketed performance to see Devon Glover “The Sonnet Man” perform Shakespeare’s sonnets with his own original Hip Hop lyrics and song, offering an inspiring, creative experience audiences love.
Additional activities include a wildlife presentation by Wildlands Conservancy at 11:00am, a magic show with Joseph Keppel at 12:00pm, and a puppet show with Book & Puppet Co. at 3:00pm. And, supporting the community’s young talent, Pennsylvania Youth Theatre will perform, followed by an Emerging Artist Showcase of vocalists and musicians held “on the green” in front of the Labuda Center in the late afternoon. Family and friends of all ages can enjoy various other highlights including crafts, activities, a puppet workshop, face painting, games, and more.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase provided by food trucks: Aroi Mango, Greek Street, The Burger Shack, Mediterranean King, Solsbury Hill Scoop Shoppe and Bakery; and Coopersburg’s Sage Alley Brewery will be pouring craft beers for the event.
Some of the community partners who will be present with resource tables include The Children’s Home of Easton, Community Music School, Creative Learning Lab, Da Vinci Science Center at PPL Pavilion, Eastern PA Down Syndrome Center, Humble Imprints, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Lehigh Valley Parkour Academy, New PA Project Education Fund, Parent to Parent, Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, Therapeutic Arts Group, Wildlands Conservancy, and WilDes Adventures.
The complete schedule for PSF’s Community Day on July 6, is as follows:
Trexler Parking Lot
8:00am-12:00pm Classic Car Cruise-in
Schubert Theatre
10:00am-11:15am Winnie-the-
2:00pm-3:30pm The Sonnet Man*
Main Stage Theatre
2:00pm-4:15pm The Merry Wives of Windsor*
7:30pm The Merry Wives of Windsor*
On The Green
1:00pm-1:45pm Renaissance Music
2:00pm-2:30pm Pennsylvania Youth Theatre Performance
4:00pm-5:30pm Emerging Artist Showcase
Time-TBD: Sneak Peak Performance – The Color Purple
The Mall
10am-11am Meet a Pony
11:00am-11:45am Wildlife Presentation with Wildlands Conservancy
12:00pm-12:45pm Magic with Joseph Keppel
12pm-1pm Meet an Alpaca
1:00pm-2:15pm “Play On!” Tour The Comedy of Errors
3:00pm-4:00pm Book & Puppet Story Time
*Ticketed event
-This event is rain or shine.
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, the official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, features acclaimed actors from Broadway, television, and film, and is the summer home to over 200 artists from around the country, including winners and nominees of the Tony, Obie, Emmy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Jefferson, and Barrymore Awards.
The 2024 Summer Season runs now to August 4, 2024
For the full season line-up click here.
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Leadership:
JASON KING JONES (Artistic Director) Prior to moving to the Lehigh Valley with his family, Jason spent ten years at Maryland’s Olney Theatre Center, where he served as Senior Associate Artistic Director and Artistic Director of National Players, America’s longest-running touring theatre company. In the past twenty-five years Jason directed over seventy-five productions, mentored hundreds of early-career theatre makers, and established various in school and summer educational programs. He is an Acting Company alumnus, a proud member of the PSF Board, and a member of the Shakespeare Theatre Association’s IDEAA Committee, and Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Nonprofit & Business Partners Council. Jason holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Missouri State and an MFA in Directing from Boston University.
CASEY WILLIAM GALLAGHER (Managing Director) has worked at PSF for 26 seasons. Over the years he was a box office intern, a stage management intern, the assistant house manager, box office manager, company manager, assistant producer, director of development and worked directly with PSF Founder Jerry Schubert in the early years of the organization. Since 2004, in his role as general manager and later managing director, he served as the administrative leader of the festival, working very closely with former Producing Artistic Director Patrick Mulcahy and the box office, business, development, marketing and production departments. Casey now serves as co-leader of the Festival with Artistic Director Jason King Jones. Beyond PSF, Casey was treasurer for the Shakespeare Theatre Association, director of audience services for The People’s Light & Theatre Company, a board member for Civic Theatre of Allentown, a peer panelist for the New Jersey Council on the Arts and a judge for the Greater Philadelphia Barrymore Awards for excellence in theatre. Casey thanks the PSF year-round staff, the summer staff, the WillPower Tour staff, the Festival board of directors, the volunteer Guild and all the other stakeholders who contribute and play a part in bringing theatre to life onstage and in our community.
Information provided to TVL by:
Tina Louise Slak
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
The Professional Theatre at DeSales University
2755 Station Avenue
Center Valley, PA 18034
p: 610-282-WILL [9455]
www.pashakespeare.org
