The cast and crew of the Hobnob Theatre Company are busy bringing “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare to life in an outdoor setting. The play will be staged in two different places: Preston Park and Zelienople Community Park.

The show is under the direction of Ken Smith of Donegal Township this year. Phil Ball had been the director of the Hobnob summer shows for three years running.

“Phil has graciously sacrificed his summers for the past three years to direct, and we wanted him to have a break,” Smith said.

However, Ball will be on stage. He will portray the character Olivia, since in Shakespeare's day, plays were done with an all-male cast and Smith wanted to keep it as true to the roots of the play as possible.

“We decided to set it in Shakespeare's time, with period costumes,” Smith said. “As we started thinking about the cast, we wondered if we could pull off an all-male version of the play. This had appeal in terms of its authenticity.”

Hobnob lined up some of the best seamstresses and costumers to give the show a real Renaissance feel.

“B.J. Herr and Eileen Stroup will be helping with the jerkins and slops and doublets and breeches and hose, to make this play a lot of fun to watch,” said Smith.

The tale is about Viola who has been shipwrecked in a violent storm off the coast of Illyria; in the process she has lost her twin brother, Sebastian. She disguises herself as a boy and assumes the name Cesario for protection. It is one of Shakespeare's most musical plays.

Ball, a Butler resident, said Olivia “is a countess who has been grieving her brother's death for what many see as an overly long period of time.”

“Since she is in mourning, she is declining all suitors for her hand in marriage,” Ball said, noting that playing a woman character is a first for him.

“I thought the challenge of maintaining a female persona, that is not a gag, for an entire show would be a good one for me,” he said.

The outdoor venue will present some challenges, but for Ball it's about a warm mourning dress in the summer.

“For me, the challenge of this show will be the vocal endurance I will need to maintain the voice for Olivia. It sits higher and is lighter in timbre but not a falsetto, and that requires a bit of preparation,” he said.

Jud M. Stewart of Butler is cast in the role of Viola. “I'm a man playing a woman who is pretending to be a man. It's a trip, that's for sure,” Stewart said.

“When the opportunity came to not only work with this company again but also work with Ken at the helm, I jumped. I've also never done a Shakespeare in the Park before. Shakespeare, yes. In the Park, no,” he said.

Stewart appeared in “Art,” Hobnob's spring show in April.

Stewart said he's busy preparing for this Shakespeare in the Park show by getting in touch with his feminine side. “We want this to be funny. But not 'parody' funny. So it's vitally important to strike that balance,” Stewart said.

Area actor Stefan Lingenfelter will portray Malvolio, the steward in Olivia's household and quite the pot stirrer.

Also appearing are Daniel Williams, Thom Hilliard, John Henry Steelman, Justin Anderson, Bob Meals, Louis Hutmire, Elijah Errington and Justin Macurdy.

Audiences attending the show, which opens Aug. 12, are encouraged to take a picnic, chairs or a blanket, and bug spray. Unlike previous Hobnob shows in the park, the action will be centered in one area instead of moving sites.

The first two weekends will be at Preston Park. The third weekend will be at the amphitheater in Zelienople Community Park.

WHO: Hobnob Theatre CompanyWHAT: “Twelfth Night” by ShakespeareWHEN: 6 p.m. Aug. 12-13 and 19-20 at Preston Park and Aug. 26-27 at Zelienople AmphitheaterWHERE: Preston Park, 415 S. Eberhart Road, Butler Township; and Zelienople Community Park Amphitheater, 402 E. Beaver St., ZelienopleTICKETS: $10 at park on day of show