THOUSAND OAKS, CA - Experienced Shakespeare director Jan Powell will make her Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival debut with the production of “The Taming of the Shrew.”

Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the festival will present “Shrew” at 8 p.m. July 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17 in scenic Kingsmen Park at California Lutheran University.

Powell is the former artistic director of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival and founding artistic director of Tygres Heart Shakespeare Company in Portland. She has produced and directed for organizations throughout the country including the American Shakespeare Center, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Mendocino Shakespeare Festival, New York’s Looking Glass Theatre, Boston’s Stoneham Theatre and Nevada Repertory Theatre.

The play within a play starts inside a tavern in an Elizabethan English inn. After a troupe of traveling players arrives, the grimy tavern is transformed into sunny Italy, and the workers watch and eventually take part in the story of “The Taming of the Shrew.” While the play is true to the original text, Powell said the production is not about a man dominating a woman, but about two people figuring out how to make a relationship work. It is suitable for all ages.

The festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking. Pre-show entertainment featuring Renaissance music, comic Shakespearean improvisations and wandering performers begins at 6:45 p.m.

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is the professional theatre company of CLU. In addition to producing one of the area’s most popular outdoor theatrical events, it provides apprentice programs, an educational tour program for schools and summer theater camps.

CLU’s Theatre Arts Department launched the festival in 1997 in conjunction with the Santa Susana Repertory Theatre Company. Put together on a shoestring budget by a dedicated corps of volunteers, the first festival featured several professional actors, garnered tremendous praise and drew more than 3,000 people. Today, about 7,000 people attend the festival each summer.

Originally, actors performed on the grass without a stage or sound reinforcement and with minimal lights and settings. Today, workers erect a professional stage, full sets and complete lighting and sound systems. Set among trees next to a small creek, the venue provides a unique experience complete with croaking frogs.

Tickets, which are $15 for adults and free for patrons 17 and younger, are available at the door. Reserved lawn-box seating for four to six adults is $70 to $90. Reservations for box seating can be made online at http://www.kingsmenshakespeare.org or by calling (805) 493-3455. Parking is available at the corner of Mountclef Boulevard and Olsen Road.