GARDINER — Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center, Water Street, will present “Richard3” at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 18. Tickets cost $6.
The new film by Michael Miclon, the executive and artistic directer of Johnson Hall, is also the screen writer, director and lead actor in Boo Dog Film’s latest production. “Richard3” is a comedic adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Richard III. Shot on location throughout Maine, from Fort Popham in Phippsburg to the former St. Patrick’s Church in Lewiston and used only Maine actors, all of which are classically trained physical comedy stage performers. The production also included more than 300 extras from all over Maine and New Hampshire, according to a news release from the Johnson Hall.
Production on the film began in the summer of 2012. After two years of pre-production, plus a successful fundraising campaign through Kickstarter, Miclon and his team completed the film and are preparing to enter it in festivals across the country. “In June of 2013, we had the great fortune to show the first-cut version of Richard3 to a sold-out crowd of 428 people at the Emerge Film Festival,” Miclon reports. “Since then, we have been sharpening our editing knives and have prepared this third cut to show at Johnson Hall.
“Richard3” was created with a low budget of $65,000 but it is not a low-budget film. Seasoned actors, costumers and filmmakers came together to create this project. The story of the famed hunchback maniacal king who murders his way to the top surprisingly and easily lent itself to the absurd. Adding a twist or two to the original script and trimming away some of the less essential parts of the story, they created a script that told the story and utilized everything in their performing arsenal, from improvisation to juggling.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.johnsonhall.org or call 582-7144.
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