The Magic Of A Large Ensemble In An Intimate Space

Photo Credit: Facet Photography

When one and two person shows seem to dominate the theatrical landscape these days, there’s something undeniably thrilling about seeing a big ensemble of talented actors take on large-cast plays that fill up the theater.

When throngs of Greeks circled our stage to the beat of the drums during the first moment of The Curse Of Oedipus, the excitement was palpable. When denizens of the British pub besieged by the Nazis burst into “London Pride” during the finale of Peace In Our Time, audiences leapt to their feet. And when our cast of lovers, clowns, and melancholics escape to the Forest of Arden in our current production of As You Like It, we hope you’ll again be swept away by the singular power of an Antaeus production.

At Antaeus, our commitment to these epic tales is doubled in size by our signature “partner casting.” Instead of just one actor in each role, we cast two equally talented and unique performers. When two actors inhabit the same role with sometimes very different choices, the text — and the entire show — can be illuminated in a fascinating way, and the power of our actors is revealed. And our audiences have the opportunity to witness this magic with an intimate, up-close view.

We’ve noticed that substantial casts in full-bodied productions of Shakespeare, Chekhov, Coward, Miller, Inge — and newer works, too — are becoming more and more rare. If you love theatrical ensemble work as much as we do, please click here to make a donation to Antaeus before our fiscal year ends on August 31.

It is only through your support that we are able to keep bringing these large-cast productions to our stages, reminding us all what the theater was and can still be. Please join us and celebrate our love of big stories, as told by the strongest bench of actors we know!

Sincerely,

Bill, John & Rob
Artistic Directors