The first and largest Shakespeare Festival in the U.S. put on by and for young people returns with three more classics by the inimitable Bard. This year's line-up includes Othello, comedy Twelfth Night, and Antony and Cleopatra.

"The themes that Shakespeare explores," said Walden's Artistic Director Charlie Sexton, "cover the spectrum of human experience. Working with Shakespeare gives students the the ability to see the world from a broad perspective and deepens their understanding of a range of ideas and topics."

All the Young American Shakespeare Festival's professional-quality plays are performed by students enrolled in Walden Theatre's nationally-recognized Conservatory Program. The festival represents the culmination of a year of scene-work, rehearsals, and main-stage performances of classic and contemporary works.

Othello
Directed by Charlie Sexton
May 14, 15 @ 2pm 
May 17, 22 @7:30pm
May 20 @8pm
A general goes off to war with his wife and his military cohort, but dishonesty, jealously and betrayal are on the horizon. Soon, he finds his world and everything in it methodically, cruelly unmade by the machinations of a once-trusted companion.

Antony and Cleopatra
Directed by Alec Volz 
May 12, 14, 16, 19 @7:30 
May 21 @ 2pm
Honor, might, and love--with all the world for a stage. Brilliant general Antony has given himself over to the charms of Cleopatra and the languor of Egypt, even as events around the Roman world threaten a major military showdown as well as great personal tragedy.

Twelfth Night 
Directed by J. Barrett Cooper 
May 13, 15, 18, 21 @7:30 
May 22 @2pm
Love is excessive, love is crazy, love is painful and love is confusing. And love triangles don't get any more entertaining than in this comedy where a young woman impersonating a man is caught between a duke and a lady.Information and Tickets

All plays are at the Victor Jory Theatre at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Tickets for evening performances cost $15 for adults and $10 for students/seniors, and tickets for matinee shows cost $10 for adults and $8 for students/seniors. For information, email Walden Theatre or call 502.589.0084. For tickets, call Actors Theatre at 502.584.1205.