2026 SUMMER ANNOUNCEMENT!

LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST

Performs 7:30 PM, June 25 - 27

William Shakespeare's LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST will be performed at 50 West Main Street in Fredonia, NY. Presale tickets will be available at MainStreetStudios.org, or for cash or card at the door one hour before the show.

Parking is free in Fredonia’s convenient Municipal Parking Lots.

LOOKING BACK

Shakespeare on the Lake was established in 2017 as a collaboration between The Playground Academy and Venture Productions to bring professional summer theatre to Chautauqua County. For one week in July, residents and visitors can enjoyed local food, professional talent and the beautiful sunsets on Lake Erie. After a successful inaugural year, Shakespeare on the Lake became a community expectation. Here is a brief history of our productions:

SEASON 1: Our premiere production was A Midsummer Night's Dream. Producer/ Director Ted Sharon called it “the great experiment” to see if the community would embrace a summer theatre festival. Tom Loughlin played Bottom, Lucas Denies played Puck, Genevieve Ellis played Helena, Michaela Tramuta played Hermia, Cameron Forster played Demetrius, Reagan Ellis played Lysander, Jane Villella played Titania, and 11 month-old Charlotte Sharon played the Changeling child (and learned to walk during rehearsals) at the Dunkirk Lighthouse. Ticket sales exceeded expectations and, against the odds, a festival was born.

SEASON 2: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Romeo & Juliet each ran for one week. Food truck concessions were added along with an Opening Night Gala for those with an interest in how productions come to life. Appetizers, special 'behind-the-scenes' activities, a blind auction and an evening performance were included with each ticket during July of 2018.

SEASON 3: Shakespeare's Hamlet and Two Gentlemen of Verona ran for one week each. Food truck concessions, an Opening Night Gala and special 'behind-the-scenes' activities were again included during the course of the 2019 festival.

SEASON 4: Shakespeare's The Tempest ran for one week at the newly renovated Main Street Studios in downtown Fredonia. Paul Mockovak (actor/professor) performed the role of Prospero. Access to local restaurants, ADA accommodations, air conditioning, concessions and comfortable seating made the indoor venue at Main Street Studios the perfect home for the 2021 season.

SEASON 5: Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew opened at the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds, and then ran the remainder of the week at Main Street Studios. The production brought Sara Schoch and Paul Mockovak (former student-teacher, now professional duo) together with Jane Villella as Bianca for rollicking performances during the 2022 season.

SEASON 6: Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing opened at Main Street Studios and brought Sara Schoch and Paul Mockovak back together for wonderful fun, great performances and an ensemble extravaganza during the 2023 season.

SEASON 7: Ben Sheedy directed Shakespeare's Macbeth at Main Street Studios in downtown Fredonia. It then toured to Graycliff Manor in Derby, NY. This production featured Sara Schoch as Lady Macbeth, Phil McMullen as Macbeth, and Ted Sharon as Macduff and his daughters as Macduff’s children in the 2024 season.

SEASON 8: Sara Schoch directed a reimagined A Midsummer Night's Dream set in Greece, and oh, the fun we had…. Jane Villella, one of the original actors cast in 2017, revitalized her role as Titania opposite Paul Mockovak as Oberon, Emilia Sharon took on her sister’s role from 2017 as the Changeling child, and Phil McMullen played Bottom in our 2025 season.