Steel City Shakespeare Center hosting free outdoor performances of 'Pericles'

It wasn’t long after the Steel City Shakespeare Center found a new home at the West View Hub that the coronavirus dropped the curtain on the theatrical troupe’s plans for live performances.

But now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted, the show must go on.

The group’s first live, in-person performance will be William Shakespeare’s “Pericles,” of his last plays, written between 1608-1609.

The story follows the character on a series of voyages to distant lands seeking love and adventure as he’s met with a series of hardships in the form of shipwrecks, conspiracies, betrayals and unbearable losses.

Through every seemingly insurmountable challenge, Pericles relies on the kindness of others and summons the courage to keep moving forward despite impossible odds.

“When we couldn’t put on live shows because of the pandemic we found a way to perform by hosting several virtual programs,” said Jeffrey Chip’s, the artistic director for the Steel City Shakespeare Center.

One of the shows, Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” helped raise money for the Hub’s pantry; and an online presentation of “The Raven and Other Works” by Edgar Allen Poe was part of the community center’s Halloween celebration. In December, they did a radio-style presentation of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.

Chips said the theater company uses a style of performance called “extreme casting” that was readily adapted to virtual presentations, “but nothing beats performing in front of a live audience.”

“A huge component of Shakespeare’s plays is that they are very interactive,” he said. “They were performed outdoors with the audience right around them and there was a back and forth between the actors and the spectators, which is the type of atmosphere we try to create.”

Chips said the group sometimes “likes to take it a step further.”

“We like to find a character in the show that a member out of the audience can portray, which is usually a fun moment,” he said.

Extreme casting utilizes a small cast or even a single performer to convey the story of a much larger cast of characters. It also does not rely on large sets, elaborate costumes and other components of big theatrical presentations.

The stripped-down style is rooted in theatrical styles such as puppetry, stand-up comedy, pantomime, “poor” theater and some aspects of Elizabethan theater, he said.

Performing out of the controlled environment of an indoor theater also can mean dealing with surprises.

“Sometimes a helicopter will pass overhead or an animal will run in front of the actors, but we just roll with it,” Chips said. “It can help add to the unpredictability.”

Chips said the stripped-down style also provides insight into the performance process.

“What we try to do is make the moment happen,” he said. “There’s no illusion or magic. It’s just what we create in front of you.”

Chips said while the performers strive to make the shows family-friendly, he advises parents of young children that Shakespeare’s plays “are full of violence and bawdy humor, and ‘Pericles’ is no exception.”

“Pericles” will be performed at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 and 23 and again on Aug. 28 and 29 at Barry G. Schell “Bronx” Field, 1110-1118 Center Ave., West View.

Admission is free but patrons are invited to donate to help support the nonprofit organization. Guests should bring their own blankets or lawn chairs. If the shows cannot be performed outdoors because of rain, performances will be moved to the Hub on Perry Highway. Patrons are encouraged to wear masks inside the building, but it is not a requirement.

For more information, visit steelcityshakespeare.org.