Original Practice Shakespeare Presents: King Lear

ORIGINAL PRACTICE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL (OPS Fest) is back in the parks for a 16th season!

Come celebrate our sweet sixteenth 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.

See our summer calendar here!

Show Summary: King Lear in 50 Words

Lear's retiring and divides up his kingdom. Regan gets half. Gonerril gets half. Cordelia gets banished. Kent gets banished but sticks around anyways (in disguise!). Edmund the Bastard stages a coup alongside Goneril and Regan. Cordelia rides to Lear's rescue. All your favorite characters die.

About OPS Fest’s Repertory:

OPS Fest performs its repertory over the summer at 11 different parks in the Portland Metro area and beyond! The OPS Fest company of skilled, flexible actors will perform with occasional interruptions of songs, dances, and sketches throughout. Shows are free to attend and (usually) begin at 7:00 PM. The audience is welcome to arrive during the hour before to watch the pre-game song, dance, & fight rehearsals. Children, picnics, and leashed pups are always welcome!

About the 2024 Season:

OPS Fest is proud to bring admission-free Shakespeare to the Portland Public Parks and beyond for their 16th 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 bringing their iconic style of performance to some brand-new locations! In late July and throughout August, look out for OPS at Lake Oswego’s Roehr Park and George Rogers Park, Beaverton’s Raleigh Park, and the Tillamook Library.

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:

6/21: Mt. Tabor Summit

July:

7/5-6: Cathedral Park

7/12-13: Laurelhurst Park

7/19-20: Irving Park

7/26-27: Laurelhurst Park

7/28: Roehr Park (Lake Oswego)

August:

8/2-3 Irving Park

8/8: Raleigh Park (Beaverton)

8/9: George Rogers Park (Lake Oswego)

8/10: Veterans Memorial Park (Sherwood)

8/16-17: Washington Park

8/23-24: Mt. Tabor Park

8/25: The Homestead (Oregon City)

8/30-31: Tillamook Library

Host or Publisher OPS Fest