THE DRILLING COMPANY'S SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT WILL PRESENT "AS YOU LIKE IT" JULY 16 TO AUGUST 21.
Popular New York summer institution will be staged in parking lot at 145 Stanton Street.

WHERE AND WHEN:
July 16 to August 1, 2026
Parking Lot of Lower East Side Prep, 145 Stanton Street (entrance  on Rivington St. betw. Norfolk and Suffolk.)
Thursdays to Saturdays at 7:00 PM
Subways: F to Delancey Street, M to Essex Street.
Presented by The Drilling Company
FREE, donations gratefully accepted.
Info: www.drillingcompany.org
Runs 2:10; Critics are invited to all performances

NEW YORK, March 24 – The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot (SITPL) is presenting its 31st season this summer. Its concept--presenting free Shakespeare plays with a "poor theater" aesthetic in a working parking lot--is now widely imitated around the US and around the world, with productions as far away as New Zealand. From July 16 to August 1, free performances of "As You Like It," directed by Hamilton Clancy, will be offered in the schoolyard/ parking lot of Lower East Side Prep, 145 Stanton Street (at Norfolk/Rivington Streets).

The Drilling Company, founded by Hamilton Clancy, is comprised of an ensemble/rep company not unlike Shakespeare's company. Its members are veterans of the Off and Off-Off Broadway scene whose on-camera appearances commonly populate everything from streaming series to summer blockbusters.

"As You Like It" is a perennial favorite among Shakespeare's comedies. Its plot follows the banishment of Duke Senior, Orlando, Rosalind (who goes about in male drag to beguile the gallant Orlando), Celia, Oliver and Touchtstone to the Forest of Arden. In this refuge for those driven out of society, everybody gets lessons in love. The action is fierce in the first half: murders are attempted, ribs are cracked in wrestling matches, a brother is disowned, a niece is exiled and loyalties are sorely tested. For those who end up in the Forest of Arden during the second half, the perils are chiefly falling in love or being outwitted by wit. "As You Like It" introduces some of Shakespeare's most memorable characters, notably the sharp-tongued, ever-jaded Jacques. Each major character represents a quality of love: familial love is personified by Rosalind and Celia, brotherly love by the Dukes, Orlando and Oliver, the blind love of devotion by Silvius, the love of service by Adam and Corin, the love of self by Jacques and the love of lust by Touchstone.

The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot has been a Lower East Side neighborhood institution for over three decades. In 2014, SITPL lost its parking lot location of 20 years when gentrification struck: the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area gave way to a giant mixed-used development. So the attraction moved to the parking lot of The Clemente, on Norfolk Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets. In 2024, with that location under construction, SITPL transferred to the parking lot adjoining 145 Stanton Street (entrance  on Rivington Street between Norfolk and Suffolk Streets), where it will now perform for the third year. It is a short walk from the municipal parking lot where the annual Free Shakespeare festival originated.

The choice of "As You Like It" for this year's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot was partly sentimental. In 2006, when The Drilling Company took over as sole producer of Shakespeare in its first location, the municipal parking lot on Ludlow and Broome Streets, "As You Like It" was presented in its first season.

Hamilton Clancy (director) is founding Artistic Director of The Drilling Company and the most prolific director and producer of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. He has appeared in SITPL productions as Hamlet, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Petruchio and Benedick, among others. He’s been seen in film and television as Kowalski in "Orange is the New Black" (SAG Award Best Ensemble Seasons 2&3), Tom in "One Dollar" and Peck in the Coen Brothers' “Burn After Reading.” Other on-camera credits include "Blue Bloods," "Bull," "Billions," "Mindhunter" and "Gotham."

Admission is free. Chairs are provided on a first come, first served basis and audience members are welcome to bring their own. Since the performance is outdoors, masks are not required but audience members may use their own discretion. For info on this and other upcoming Drilling Company productions call 212-873-9050 or visit www.drillingcompany.org.

Rainout notices for Shakespeare in the Parking Lot are posted on www.drillingcompany.org.

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Critics are invited to all performances. Previews July 16, opens July 17.