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Shakespeare in the park and on an island

Kate Paulsen (left) and Cassandra Meyer appear in Arts After Hours’ all-female version of Shakespeare’s “Henry V’’ at High Rock Tower in Lynn, weekends through Aug. 10.Handout

SUMMERTIME SHAKESPEARE: Arts After Hours presents an all-female production of William Shakespeare’s “Henry V” at High Rock Tower in Lynn on Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 10.

Shakespeare’s drama depicts King Henry V of England reaching for control of England and France with an army much smaller than that of his French adversary.

Arts After Hours puts a twist on the play, using Shakespeare’s text but setting the action in modern-day America. It explores what it means for an all-female military unit to ship out to the front lines of battle.

The characters find their inner strength and their inner warrior as the production challenges assumptions of how gender plays a role in serving one’s country.

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The cast features actors new to Arts After Hours, including Liz Adams, Ellen Humphreys, Sarah Mass, Maggie McCaffrey, Kim Myatt, Kate Paulsen, Leilani Ricardo , and Casey Tucker.

Cassandra Meyer rejoins Arts After Hours for her second summer of Shakespeare.

“When I saw High Rock Tower, I knew we had to produce a show there and I knew it had to be ‘Henry V,’ ” said Thomas Martin, artistic director of Arts After Hours.

This is the third summer season Martin has directed the program. He is currently studying for his master of fine arts degree in directing at Boston University.

The past two summers, Arts After Hours presented Shakespeare in Lynn Woods as a traveling production in which audience members followed the actors through the woods to different scenes.

“Henry V” is being performed outdoors, but it’s a stationary production during which the audience remains seated in one location throughout the show.

“Since 2010, Arts After Hours has brought high-quality entertainment and commerce directly into our great city,” said Corey Jackson, president of the arts group. “So highlighting the beauty and history of High Rock Tower is right in line with our mission.”

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High Rock Tower is located off of Circuit Avenue in the Lynn Highlands neighborhood. Its multiple levels and the surrounding park offer views of the Atlantic Ocean, Boston skyline, and downtown Lynn. The audience is invited to see those views from inside the tower after each performance.

Performances are 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and last about 90 minutes. Beer, wine, water, soda, and snacks are available for purchase at the park.

Audience members are encouraged to bring picnic blankets and lawn chairs. Umbrellas are not allowed.

Free parking is available on Circuit Avenue and surrounding streets. High Rock is also a short walk up the hill from Essex Street. Tickets are $20. Call 781-205-4010 or visit artsafterhours.com.

AN ISLAND PERFORMANCE: Sea Shuttle and Sea Station present the inaugural performance of “The Tempest Trials,” a Shakespearean Festival on Misery Island in Salem on Saturday.

The festival features a diverse group of actors of all ages – selected by audition — participating in a reading competition before a panel of judges.

There are three ferry rides from Salem Willows Park Pier, at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon, onboard the Endeavor to Misery Island.

Proceeds benefit the nonprofit Sea Station Inc. in its mission to safeguard the ocean through hands-on education and involvement of the community.

Tickets are $50. Visit seashuttle.com.

AUTHOR’S CORNER: Dr. Lawrence Climo discusses his book, “The Patient Was Vietcong: An American Doctor in the Vietnamese Health Service, 1966-1967,” at the Center at Punchard in Andover at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The book is about his wartime mission as an Army doctor treating Vietnamese civilians on a counter-insurgency mission. . . . Miles Unger reads from his book “Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces” at 3:30 p.m. next Sunday at Book Ends in Winchester. The book is his third in a series of biographies of the magnificent minds of the Italian Renaissance. Unger is an art historian, journalist, and former editor of Art New England . . . . A book launch of “Legendary Locals of Newburyport” by Kathleen M. Downey is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Jabberwocky Bookshop in Newburyport. The book includes portraits and profiles of more than 100 historic and contemporary residents of the city. Downey is former features editor of Newburyport Today.

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IN LOCAL GALLERIES: The printmakers of the Newburyport Art Association present their 11th annual “Making an Impression” exhibit at the association July 29 through Aug. 10. A reception with the artists is 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 1. The 12 printmakers use a range of styles, materials, and techniques including etching, drypoint, monoprint, woodblock, linoleum, collagraph, mezzotint, mixed media, and digital. The printmakers are Patty deGrandpre, Kate Higley, Mary Carolyn Webber, Barbara Nachmias-Kedesdy, Murial Angelil, Mary Tuttle, Kate Hanlon, Susan Jaworski-Strank, Ila Cox, Susan Dosick, Mary Arthur Pollak , and Jim Tinguely.


Wendy Killeen can be reached at wdkilleen@gmail.com.

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