House Republican Press Release

July 10, 2006

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Rep Ryan: Rowayton Theater Group Receives State Grant

State Representative John J. Ryan, R-Darien, announced the state recently provided $19,177 in grant funds for the Shakespeare on the Sound organization, located in Rowayton.  The funding, which assists the theater in its operating budget, is provided by the state’s Commission on Culture and Tourism.

Shakespeare on the Sound is committed to producing affordable, professional, open-air productions of the plays of William Shakespeare and related authors in Fairfield County. Performances have been staged in Rowayton’s Pinkney Park since 1996 and more than 80,000 theater-goers and several thousand schoolchildren have benefited from the programs.

Working in collaboration with area civic, business and education institutions, the goal of Shakespeare on the Sound is to bring great dramatic works to a broad audience, creating a forum for learning, appreciation and celebration. Since its inception, the program has presented Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice and The Winter’s Tale. For its 2006 season, the organization recently presented Macbeth.

“If you follow what happens in Hartford these days, Shakespeare's observation that " All the world's a stage" [from As You Like It , Act 2] seems very appropriate some times!,” said Rep. Ryan. “This superb local group continues to excel, and the insights of Shakespeare continue to be increasingly relevant, even in our technology-dominated age. I am very pleased that the State is able to assist Shakespeare on the Sound again.”