Copywriting: Sweet Tea Shakespeare Season Blurbs

Purpose

These blurbs were used for marketing materials for the 2022-2023 season of Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s plays, a theatre company based in Fayetteville, NC.

Audience

Theatre fans interested in attending Sweet Tea Shakespeare plays.

Process

In the process of writing this copy, I

·      Communicated with theatre staff to determine season lineup.

·      Researched each show in order to determine the general plot synopsis of each.

·      Wrote the blurbs.

·      Presented draft to artistic director.

·      Made edits as needed.

Sweet Tea Shakespeare Show Descriptions: 2022-2023 Season

OtheLIT: Sweet Tea Shakespeare’s beloved, raucous, tipsy LIT series returns to Fayetteville, NC, turning its irreverent sights on the Moor of Venice. Our cast of seasoned, consummate professional actors, including American Shakespeare Company alum Rick Blunt, are all set to take on Othello’s tragic tale of jealousy, racism, and murder, but they get waylaid at a frat party on their way to the show. Hijinks ensue. The LIT series shows, often staged at local breweries, feature drinking games, audience participation, improv, lively music, and not a little joy. Pour yourself a local beer, enjoy some tipsy theater, and see if you love OtheLIT...perhaps not wisely, but too well.

Hamlet: New from Fayetteville, NC’s Shakespearean theatre troupe comes a unique pared-down school tour of Hamlet. This can’t-miss Sweet Tea Shakespeare tour tells the classic tragic tale of the prince of Denmark, with only four actors playing every role. Hamlet, still reeling from the untimely death of his father the King, is shocked to receive a ghostly visit from his father, instructing Hamlet to avenge his death. The king’s ghost accuses his brother, who has married Hamlet’s mother and taken the throne. Our prince decides to feign madness while investigating the accusations against his uncle, sending his sweetheart Ophelia into despair. Hamlet devises the perfect plan to reveal the true murderer: putting on a play. Shakespeare’s longest and one of the most-performed, most-adapted, and most beloved works.

SherlockLIT: NO LIT, SHERLOCK! Mystery, theatre, booze, and Shakespeare combine as everyone’s favorite detectives get Sweet Tea’s LIT treatment for the first time. A drunken, hilarious, cheeky take on some of literature’s most beloved characters. Sherlock and Watson are trying to solve a crime so classic you might call it Shakespearean, but they stop for a few drinks along the way. Will you join us in Fayetteville, NC for a night of mystery and absurdity, coupled with great music, drinking games, audience participation, improv, and not a few laughs? Elementary, my dear.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Plunge into the depths with Sweet Tea Shakespeare as we travel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Join the most innovative theatre troupe in Fayettevillle NC for a unique immersive retelling of the classic Jules Verne tale. Savor our unique curated menu while diving into the thrilling tale of deep-sea adventure. In this contemporary adaptation, the enigmatic Captain Nemo captains the Nautilus, the world’s first submarine, bringing Professor Aronnax, assistant Conseil and harpooner Ned Land on an epic quest across the seven seas, encountering mysterious and deadly sea creatures, natives of exotic lands, and deadly enemies.

Twelfth Night: Sweet Tea Shakespeare is bringing one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies to the Fayetteville, NC stage: the classic tale of shipwrecks, twins, disguises, and misplaced love. Illyrian nobleman Orsino is pining away for the love of Lady Olivia; alas, the lady, in mourning for her departed brother, has eschewed marriage. Meanwhile, a shipwreck has cast twins Sebastian and Viola into the waters of Illyria. Viola drags herself ashore and, unable to find her twin, gives him up as lost and seeks employment in Illyria. After disguising herself as a man (taking the name Cesario), Viola gains employment in Duke Orsino’s household. Soon, Viola finds herself falling in love with the Duke...which is complicated by the fact that she is disguised as a man, and that Orsino sends her to deliver love letters to his own beloved Olivia. Of course, as soon as Olivia sets eyes on Cesario (Olivia) she falls hard, and the love triangle is complete. Meanwhile, Sebastian, who has survived the shipwreck but believes Viola to be lost, arrives in Illyria with his friend Antonio. Another suitor of Lady Olivia’s, Sir Andrew, has challenged Cesario to a duel. When Sebastian arrives, Sir Andrew mistakes him for Cesario and a fight breaks out. Olivia appears on the scene and, mistaking Sebastian for Cesario as well, begs him to be hers, to his confused delight. Will the twins discover the happy truth about each other and will the couples who belong together be reunited? Dress in your best yellow stockings (cross-gartered) and join us at the theatre to find out!