William Downes: About the Artist

 

Click here to listen to his interview.

Before founding and becoming  artistic director of Classics on the Rocks, William Downes spent years honing his craft in and around New York City. He’s had the honor of playing some of Shakespeare’s most delightful clowns such as Dogberry(Much Ado About Nothing) Dromio of Syracuse(Comedy of Errors) Touchstone(As You Like It) Malviolo(Twelfth Night) and Launce(Two Gentlemen of Verona) and  on the more serious side, he’s played such intricate roles as Macbeth(MacBeth) Othello(Othello) Roderick(Double Falsehood) and Petruchio (Taming of the Shrew) As artistic Director of Classics on the Rocks, his goal is present the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries as they are, not what we think they should be. With no hidden agenda, we focus on the characters, and relationships that are at the core of these plays, that continue to resonate with us and remind us of what it means to be human.  In addition to his work with Classics on the Rocks he also has does private verse coaching, for more info on that visit williamdownesversecoach.com