The Catskill Mountains have a reputation for welcoming artists who eschew the easy way of doing things—usually due either to a lifelong independent streak or just frugality. It only makes sense, then, that the region would give life to Catskill Mountain Shakespeare, a professional theater company rhapsodically reinventing what it means to stage Shakespeare, and who it’s for.
In the five years since CMS was founded—complete with a Covid-era origin story and pivot to a striking video series of forest scenes from “Macbeth” and “As You Like It”—the company has built a reputation for resourcefulness, originality, and a whole lot of heart. Its outdoor performances, held under a tent at the Red Barn in Hunter, challenge and delight—with creative costuming, agender casting, and dynamic, physical staging that always centers the Catskills as an actor in its own right.
“Outdoor theater isn’t a new concept,” says CMS Artistic Director and founder Sarah Reny. “But what makes our approach unique is the way we fully embrace the Catskills—their beauty, their drama, their personality. The mountains themselves become part of the performance, just like our audiences do.”
In founding CMS, Reny, who has an MA in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, imbued the organization’s mission with her passion for equitability, access, and diversity in the arts.
Initiatives like pay-what-you-can performances, an LGBTQ+ midsummer social, relaxed shows for families and those with special needs, community book club events, and free workshops for kids, teens, and adults are as central to CMS’s programming as its mainstage performances.
Inspiring local kids and teens to develop a love for Shakespeare and pursue a passion for theater is another focus of CMS. This spring, funded by the Shakespeare in American Communities grant (a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts MidWest), the company brought a three-week tour of “Pericles” to nine schools and seven community venues, reaching over 1,300 patrons throughout New York State.
This August, the company will host its 2nd Annual Youth Company Summer Intensive (YOCO), a week-long program taught by CMS professionals for youth in grades 6-12, with scholarships for Greene County residents.
“Looking back at our first in-person season in 2021, with just a few hundred audience members, I believed that investing in our artists and our community was the way forward,” says Reny. “Heading into our 2025 season, we’re anticipating an audience of over 3,000. It’s incredibly rewarding—and deeply motivating—that what we’re creating continues to resonate so strongly with the people around us.”
This July 12-27, CMS presents 12 performances of “Romeo and Juliet,” performed outdoors and under the tent behind the Red Barn on Main Street in Hunter. The play is directed by Rebecca Wahls, an award-winning director, writer, and producer, and a newcomer to CMS who is energized by the company’s approach.
“The culture of creativity that the designers, actors, and technicians share results in exciting new discoveries and possibilities every day,” she says. Her vision for the classic tragedy highlights its potential for imaginative theater-making, pushing the play beyond the text most people think they know. “Tragedy is truly tragic when presented in contrast with what could have been. Our world under the tent takes inspiration from the natural beauty around us, creating a blooming, shimming space full of potential. What did Juliet dream of before she met Romeo?”
Heading into its sixth season, CMS has grown into a vibrant cultural force, reframing Shakespeare not as a lofty institution but as a shared summertime ritual welcome to theatergoers of all ages and from all walks of life.
“We hope to keep growing our season and reaching more people, but we’re also being intentional about pacing ourselves,” says Reny. “It’s important to me that every step we take is in service of the art and the community. We’re building something sustainable—something that lasts.”
For more information about Catskill Mountain Shakespeare, or to purchase tickets to this July’s performances of “Romeo and Juliet” visit Catskillmountainshakespeare.com.
