Festival by the Marsh to hold open auditions for Much Ado About Nothing

This year's edition of the Festival by the Marsh will run July 9 to 25, and includes the marsh music festival, fine arts shows and workshops, writers fest day, kids fest (new this year), theatre, and more.

The flagship of this year's Festival will once again be the community Shakespeare production, and this year well-known Sackville theatre person Jason Swan will be directing Much Ado About Nothing.

After six years at the Mount Allison swan pond, this year the Festival will be holding performances in a tent in downtown Sackville (and the majority of Festival events will take place there). This production will also tour for a performance in Saint Andrews by the Sea, where it will be performed outdoors.

"We're very excited about the developments this year," said artistic producer Ron Kelly Spurles. "Our new performance venue, along with the excitement of a an out-of-town performance, will really make it a production to remember. We're also really pleased to have Jason Swan, who recently did such a fine job directing Garnet and Gold's Thouroughly Modern Millie as director. He's being assisted by Stacey Merrigan, and it's sure to be a fine production under their guidance."

Auditions will be held Tuesday, April 6 from 2-4 p.m. and Wednesday, April 7 from 8-10 p.m.

Auditioners can e-mail festival@mta.ca (or 364-2179) to book a time during these hours (or to request a time outside of these hours of they are unable to attend then), or can simply show up at the auditions (the location will be posted on the Festival by the Marsh website). No preperation is necessary.

All cast members will be paid an honorarium depending on the size of their roles, and everyone of any age is encouraged to audition.

For more information on auditions, or other Festival events, please visit www.festivalbythemarsh.ca or phone 364-2179.