Shakespeare in the Parks plays in Frick Park

For those of you who find sitting in English class and reading Shakespeare a bit dry, Pittsburgh… For those of you who find sitting in English class and reading Shakespeare a bit dry, Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks offers a possible remedy.

This Saturday, the group will present its energetic rendition of “Much Ado About Nothing” in the sunny setting of Frick Park. The interactive performance begins at 2 p.m. near the Blue Slide Playground on Beechwood Boulevard and Nicholson Street in Squirrel Hill.

“The show starts by the sidewalk near the playground and moves down into a beautiful bowl of trees,” director Melissa Hill Grande said.

Grande said moving this performance of “Much Ado About Nothing” out of a theater and into a park setting allows the dynamic actors to interact with the audience and physically them physically from scene to scene.

“We use what’s there … and work with the landscape,” Grande said.

This hands-on approach is in every aspect of the performance. Actors will interact with the audience by directly speaking with viewers, thus breaking down the proverbial fourth wall common to many traditional portrayals.

“The audience is really invited to interact during these performances,” said Jennifer Tober, the artistic director and founder of Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks.

Tober founded the Pittsburgh company after spending time working with a similar program in New York. The former Big Apple resident took part in other Shakespeare park performances in the Bronx and Queens before she relocated to the Pittsburgh area and started the organization here.

“Much Ado About Nothing” will be Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks’ sixth show since the company’s start in 2005. In the past, the groups has put on “As You Like It,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Macbeth,” “Twelfth Night” and “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”

Tober explained that many Pitt theater students and graduates are actively involved with the company. Some of these current and former Panthers include: Tonya Lynn, Charlie Brown and Cara Kierzkowski. Even the assistant director for “Much Ado About Nothing,” Tommy Costello, is a Pitt graduate student.

As if Panther pride, a scenic backdrop and free admission weren’t enough, audience members can reserve lunches to munch on beforehand. For $10, Whole Foods Market provides a picnic lunch that includes meat and vegetarian sandwich options, grilled vegetables, fruit and a drink.

People who want to reserve a lunch, can go online and forward a request to pittsburghshakespeare@yahoo.com. They should plan on getting to the park around 1 p.m.

To make the most of the event, Grande encourages attendees to bring along a blanket, snacks and some loved ones with whom to relax and enjoy the free event.

“It makes for a really nice afternoon,” Grande said. “You get to see theater, sit outside and not do homework.”

In addition to Saturday’s performance,“Much Ado About Nothing” will also be play Sept. 11 and 12 at Allegheny Commons Park at W. North Avenue and Brighton Road in the North Side; Sept. 18 and 19 at Mellon Park on Fifth and Shady avenues in Shadyside; and again at the Blue Slide Playground in Frick Park Sept. 25 and 26.