We Players to Stage Shakespeare's MACBETH Under Golden Gate Bridge, 8/30-10/6

We Players, in partnership with the National Park Service/ Golden Gate National Recreation Area will present a site-integrated production of Shakespeare's Macbeth at Fort Point, the civil war era fortress located beneath the Golden Gate bridge. The production previews August 30 -September 1, then runs September 5 through October 6, 2013, Thursday through Sunday. Tickets sales begin August 1; for tickets and more information, call 415.547.0189 or visit www.weplayers.org.

In the fall of 2013, We Players will remount our epic production of Macbeth at Fort Point (first produced in 2008). Multiple performance trajectories wind through the dark stone corridors, narrow passageways, expansive brick casemates, and inner chambers of the fort. On the parade ground, in the direct onslaught of the billowing fog and relentless wind, the weird sisters work their charms. The Golden Gate bridge soars overhead, the city skyline flickers - a full sensory immersion into Macbeth's Scotland as it collides with Civil War era and modern day San Francisco. In collaboration with the National Park Service, We Players will also engage the stories at the northernmost tip of San Francisco with community education and outreach programs in the late summer and fall. Educators should contact We Players this spring to learn more about these aesthetic education opportunities.

As with recent performances on Alcatraz and Angel Islands, We Players hopes to entice locals to visit places often left to tourists, and to experience them anew -- while offering all visitors a unique way to explore Bay Area sites. "An essential goal of our work is to inspire in our audience personal relationships with the places in which we play," says Ava Roy, the company's Artistic Director. Ms. Roy describes Fort Point as "the closest we can get to foggy, stark, blustery Scotland and still be in San Francisco", and considers the site a natural fit for the intensity of the play. Fort Point was completed in 1861 just before the American Civil War and although no military action ever occurred here, the fact the fortress served to protect San Francisco harbor from possible foreign invasion adds drama and poignancy to this setting for Shakespeare's play about the politics of power.

Fort Point sits directly below the southern anchor of the Golden Gate's entry point to the San Francisco Bay. Now a National Historic Site, Fort Point was built to defend the San Francisco Bay against hostile invasion. Fort Point is a beautiful example of masterful masonry work, and thanks to Joseph Strauss, Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, who re-designed the construction of the bridge to preserve Fort Point, this monument is open to all. More information on Fort Point is available at www.nps.gov/fopo/.

San Francisco Magazine recently honored We Players with the "Best of the Bay" pick for their unique site-specific performance work and declared, "We Players didn't just break the fourth wall, it toppled the whole playhouse". According to Managing Director Lauren Chavez, "We Players' mission is to create art that transforms public spaces into realms of participatory theatre, in an effort to engage the environment, build community, and inspire personal relationships with place." For more information, visit www.weplayers.org.

We Players presents Macbeth at Fort Point, by William Shakespeare, co-directed by Ava Roy and John Hadden. Performance Dates: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Sept 5 - Oct 6, 2012; Previews August 30, 31 & September 1; Opening September 5. Performance Times: All performances begin at 6pm.

Tickets: Previews: $30; Thursdays: $40; Fridays - Sundays: $60. Tickets sales start August 1 at www.weplayers.org. Information, group sales and educational opportunities: 415.547.0189, info@weplayers.org.

Pictured: Fort Point lighthouse and the Golden Gate bridge soaring above. Photo Credit: Mark Kitaoka.