Midsummer Midsommer: Original Practice Shakespeare Festival Season Kick-Off

OPS Fest is Back for a 17th Season! ORIGINAL PRACTICE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL (OPS Fest) is back in the parks for a 17th season! Come celebrate our seventeenth year of FREE Shakespeare, wild audience interaction, and onstage moments that are too good to be rehearsed with OPS Fest’s company of dynamic actors out in the Portland metro area’s beautiful parks (and beyond!). OPS Fest’s summer season kicks off on Friday, June 20 at 9:00pm with audience favorite Midsummer Midsommer at the summit of Mt. Tabor. They then jump directly into presenting the BEST OF OPS this summer, performing their biggest hits and some underrated faves, so check in at https://opsfest.org to keep current! About Midsummer Midsommer: On Friday, June 20th, OPS Fest starts their 17th season off right with the fan favorite, A Midsommer Nights Dreame at the summit of Mt. Tabor. The actors have no idea what character they will play until the AUDIENCE CASTS THE SHOW one hour prior to curtain! This is OPS Fest at its liveliest and most chaotic—there’s no better way to begin the season! Folks will delight in arriving early to the show to cast the play on-site at 8PM and watch their creation take shape at 9PM. This performance will NOT be suitable for children. Picnics and leashed dogs are welcome. A Midsommer Nights Dreame in 50 words: Hermia loves Lysander (requitedly). Helena loves Demetrius (unrequitedly). Pucke (a fairy) accidentally makes Lysander and Demetrius love Helena. Chaos ensues. King Oberon bespells Queen Titania to love an actor transformed into an ass. The fairies reconcile. Pucke fixes the spells (except Demetrius). Everyone gets married and watches a terrible play. About OPS Fest’s Repertory: OPS Fest performs its repertory over the summer at 9 different parks in the Portland metro area and beyond! OPS Fest’s company of skilled, flexible actors will perform with occasional interruptions of songs, dances, and sketches throughout. Shows are free to attend and most begin at 7pm. The audience is welcome to arrive during the hour before to watch the pre-show song, dance, & fight rehearsals. New this year: Shakespeare double features! On select Saturdays, OPS Fest is holding matinee performances of abridged versions of a selection of Shakespeare’s most well-loved plays, followed by full-length performances in the evening. These matinees are free to attend (just like the full-length shows!) and begin at 2pm. About the 2025 Season: OPS Fest is proud to bring admission-free Shakespeare to the Portland public parks and beyond for their 17th season! This season will see a shake-up of OPS’s repertoire: the company will present a selection of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, as well as a mix of overlooked classics! They’re also touring their iconic style of performance to some non-Portland locations! Throughout August, look out for OPS at Lake Oswego’s Roehr Park and George Rogers Park, Beaverton’s Raleigh Park, Sherwood’s Veterans’ Park, and the Tillamook Library on the coast. OPS believes that Shakespeare’s work and characters benefit from exploration by a wide array of artists from different backgrounds and experiences. In this spirit, they actively seek out artists of color, LGBTQ+ artists, artists with disabilities, as well as all gender identities, ages, and expressions of humanity! About Original Practice Shakespeare Festival: OPS Fest brings no-cost Shakespeare to parks all over the Portland metro area. The company uses the original practice techniques of Elizabethan England: limited rehearsal, scrolls in hand, audience interaction, and an onstage prompter. Gender fluid casting is our jam! Learn more at opsfest.org, opsfest.org/tour-calendar, and https://Facebook.com/opsfest. Parks and Show Dates: June: -6/20: Mt. Tabor Summit - Midsummer Midsommer at 9PM July: -7/11: Laurelhurst Park - Hamlet at 7pm -7/12: Laurelhurst Park - Twelfe Night (Abridged) at 2pm, Loves Labour’s Lost at 7pm -7/18: Irving Park - Much Adoe About Nothing at 7pm -7/19: Irving Park - Romeo & Juliet (Abridged) at 2pm, Henry IV Part 1 at 7pm -7/25: Laurelhurst Park - Macbeth at 7pm -7/26: Laurelhurst Park - A Midsommer Nights Dreame (Abridged) at 2pm, Romeo & Juliet at 7pm August: -8/2: Roehr Park (Lake Oswego) - The Tempest at 7pm -8/6: Raleigh Park (Beaverton) - A Midsommer Nights Dreame (Abridged) at 6:30pm -8/8: George Rogers Park (Lake Oswego) - A Midsommer Nights Dreame at 7pm -8/9: Veterans’ Park (Sherwood) - King Lear at 7pm -8/15: Washington Park - Twelfe Night at 7pm -8/16: Washington Park - Comedie of Errors (Abridged) at 2pm, Richard III at 7pm -8/23: Mt. Tabor Amphitheater - Apprentice Showcase at 2pm, Julius Caesar at 7pm -8/30: Tillamook Library - As You Like It at 2pm -8/31: Tillamook Library - Much Adoe About Nothing at 2pm

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