Screaming Butterflies Productionspresents Shakespeare’s Richard II   March 27, 2018   Screaming Butterflies, a new theater company in Tacoma, isproducing Shakespeare’s Richard II to be performed in the Dukesbay Theaterspace April 13th through April 29th.   One of the more rarely produced plays in Shakespeare’scanon, Richard II is about a power struggle between two factions fighting tokeep or win the crown of England. Historically, it marks the beginning of the War of the Roses in England,over a century of civil war during the Middle Ages.  In this production, director KathrynPhilbrook explores the nature of power, how it changes people, how they relateto it, and what happens when they lose it.    “It feels very timely,” says Philbrook, “We have two potentialleaders, neither of whom is really a very good king, and we see what they arewilling to do and give up to stay in power.”     Careful not to try to make this an allegory or one to onecomparison to any specific current event, this Screaming Butterflies productionis not setting the play in an identifiable time or place, but isstyle-influenced by 1920s Art Deco and Mad Men era lines.   Set Design is by architect S. MatthewPhilbrook, and Costume Design by theater veteran Naarah McDonald.  Original music is being composed by MateoHerrera, bringing an accessible modernity and a fresh contemporary vibe.  Rounding out the Production Team includesFight Choreography by Jen Tidwell, and Lighting Design by Leo Foster.   Co-Producers Philbrook and Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman areexcited about this maiden voyage for Screaming Butterflies.  They began planning to collaborate over ayear ago, and surprised each other with how closely their artistic valuesaligned.    “Theatre affords us a space to confrontthreats to our being as women in a #metoo era and make them safe. ScreamingButterflies is committed to a feminist approach for creating performance with akeen eye on body positivity and a commitment to multicultural artisticcollaboration,” says Sanchez-Izenman.    In this light, the cast featuresseveral women in strong and leading roles: Brittany Henderson plays Richard II,Nastassia Reynolds is Henry Bolingbroke. The rest of the cast play multiple ensemble roles, and include LaNitaWalters, Steve Gallion, Cat Waltzer, Ben Stahl, Jackie-Lyn Villava-Cua, JazmineHerrington, Travis Martinez, Ed Medina, and Tony Hicks.    Richard II will be performed at Dukesbay Theater in theMerlino Art Center located at 508 6th Ave Ste 10, Tacoma, WA98402.  For more information about thisproduction, contact Kathryn Philbrook at 253-691-9615 or proctor_grace@yahoo.com.  Screaming Butterflies website is screamingbutterfliestheater.wordpress.com;and tickets are available for purchase through Brown Paper Tickets at | | https://screamingbutterflies.brownpapertickets.com |