Ithaca Shakespeare Company Presents The Tempest at Treman State Park

The Ithaca Shakespeare Company will perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest outdoors at Robert H. Treman State Park July 17-20 and 23-27.

The Company has done indoor productions of The Tempest several times before – most recently at the Hangar Theatre in 2014 – but this will be their first time performing the play outdoors.

The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s late romances and may be the last play he completed before retiring from full-time work in the theatre.

Like most of these late plays, it is a blend of comedy, tragedy, and romance. It also shares with them a focus on fathers and daughters and some kind of supernatural element – in this case, Prospero’s magic.

Bringing that magic to life in an outdoor setting, using limited technical resources, is both a challenge and an opportunity for the production.

“The Tempest is a strange play,” said director Miranda Bianchi. “The word ‘strange’ is used over twenty times in the script. In Shakespeare’s time, this word meant something more than just ‘weird’ – it conveyed a sense of awe, marvel, and admiration. In this production, we’re very interested in exploring that sense of awe and strangeness. We’re bringing in a lot of different elements this year, in a truly stunning natural setting, to create an immersive atmosphere that will convey the magic and ‘strangeness’ of the island. It feels a bit like we’re creating a spell together, with poetry, movement, and sound.”

Beyond the magical elements, the play is often read as a commentary on early European colonialism and includes a speech that has been interpreted as Shakespeare’s farewell to the stage.

There is one additional aspect of The Tempest that might have kept the Company from performing it outdoors until now: “We’re all hoping that the title of the play doesn’t have any effect on the weather this summer,” said ISC Artistic Director Stephen Ponton.

The Tempest will be performed July 17-20 and 23-27, 2025, in a picnic area near the Upper Entrance of Robert H. Treman State Park. All shows start at 6 pm. Tickets are $10-20 for regular performances and $10 for all tickets at the discount night on Wednesday, July 23. Food and drink are welcome, and guests should bring their own seating.

Tickets and more information available at https://ithacashakespeare.ludus.com/.

Also on Facebook at facebook.com/ithacashakespearecompany.

The Ithaca Shakespeare Company’s performances are made possible by financial support from the Tompkins County Tourism Program and the New York State Council on the Arts.