On Saturday, July 25, Community Board 12-Manhattan was excited to have a table at the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Uptown Shakespeare in the Park, ahead of an evening performance of Othello at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park.
This opportunity was brought to the Board by CB12M Secretary Alexis Marnel, who also serves as Development Manager at the CTH. The theater hosted the Board’s table before the show and reserved seats for board members at the performance, which was exceptional.
From 6:00 to 8:00 PM, board members Indiana Porta, Danyel Hueyopan, Connor Lillis, and Ty Fujimura connected with local residents, introduced people to the idea of a community board, and shared flyers for the Board’s community survey. The members even got to meet a member of the Othello cast, who stopped by the table before the show.
The board thanks CTH and Marnel for facilitating this unique opportunity!
Uptown Shakespeare in the Park
The Classical Theatre of Harlem has staged free productions in Marcus Garvey Park every summer since 2013. This year’s iteration, Othello, was directed by Carl Cofield and starred James Udom in the title role. Performances were free and open to all, with an ASL-interpreted performance on July 14, and the amphitheater is wheelchair accessible.
The theater’s mission is to provide productions and theatre-based educational and literary programs at little or no cost to underserved communities in Harlem and beyond. Its education programs include youth theater workshops, after-school partnerships with local schools, and a summer theater intensive, and this July it ran the Harlem Teen Shakespeare Intensive, where teens trained in Shakespeare and closed with a showcase.