TOMS RIVER
Shakespeare Festival
ABOUT
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of The Toms River Shakespeare Festival is to bring the works of William Shakespeare and other great classics to the banks of the Toms River entreating, "Spirits to enforce, art to enchant" and audiences to gather. By exploring these timeless texts and stories together, we will create works of theatre that are immediate and immediately accessible.
LORI GARRABRANT/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
A NYC/NJ-based actor/director/producer and native of Toms River, NJ, Lori founded Toms River Shakespeare Festival in Summer 2017. For TRSF, she has directed Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night's Dream and the company's inaugural season production of The Tempest. Recently, she directed a condensed, virtual version of Troilus & Cressida for NYC-based theater company, Hamlet Isn't Dead. As an actor, Lori appeared as Hippolyta/Titania in TRSF's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Summer 2018). Her previous work includes the World Premiere Production of Edward Allan Baker’s The Framer with Broken Watch Theater Company and the NYC Premiere of James Christy’s Never Tell, also with Broken Watch. Regional credits include work with Foothills Theatre (Worcester, MA) and The Artistic Home, Griffin Theatre, Red Twist and Theo Ubique in Chicago. Shakespeare and classical credits include: Queen Elizabeth in Richard III, Edmund in King Lear, Ceres in The Tempest, Mrs. Sullen in The Beaux' Stratagem and Ada in Lord Byron's Cain. Lori has worked in various roles in film, television and voiceover and trained in Classical Acting at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art [LAMDA]. She completed the National Alliance of Acting Teachers Teacher Development Program in 2019 [in collaboration with NYU Tisch School of the Arts] and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. She is currently directing a piece for Chrysalis Theatre Company's "The Mental Health Monologues" benefit evening for Mood Disorder Support Groups.