Shakespeare in the Park back in Greenport village

A storm is fast approaching Greenport’s Mitchell Park, and all are welcome to come watch.

Northeast Stage’s annual Shakespeare in the Park returns to the public greenery Aug. 4 to 6. This year, the Greenport-based theater company will perform “The Tempest” beginning at 7 p.m. each night. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own blankets or chairs to enjoy the free show comfortably.

The five-act comedy is believed to be the final play Shakespeare penned before his death in 1616. The work follows separate groups of characters stranded on an island, stumbling through misunderstandings, mysteries and magical encounters.

“Originally, the director [Tony Tambasco] wanted to do a lesser-known show, but I thought, well, in the summer, we want a little bit lighter fare, usually,” said Amie Sponza, a co-founder of Northeast Stage who is producing the show and playing the role of Stephano, regendered as Stefania. “Though ‘The Tempest’ has some dark parts to it, as most of Shakespeare’s plays do, there’s also pieces of forgiveness.”

This year’s three-night Shakespearean stint at Mitchell Park coincides with Northeast Stage’s 40th year as a nonprofit sharing its love of theater with the community.

“It feels pretty great, because I’m one of the co-founders and I’ve kept it going,” Ms. Sponza said of the milestone. “It’s a feat, it’s a labor of love for me to keep it going and honoring my mentor, Peg Murray … who is the reason we formed the company in the first place. And she’s passed on now, but we’re still going.”

Even after four decades , the nonprofit still endures its share of challenges, including a declining interest in the performing arts and in-person entertainment across many industries. This means not only fewer audience members turning out for performances, but fewer actors auditioning.

“Community theaters rely on community members who want to be in shows in some capacity,” Mr. Tambasco said. “We are feeling that, I think along with everyone else.

“But that said, we have made some really fun discoveries,” he added of drawing from a limited pool for casting. “I’ve come to appreciate ‘The Tempest’ really as Shakespeare at his best … I think the regendering that we did with Prospero to Prospera and Miranda to Mirando and some of the other characters, like a female Caliban, has revealed some really interesting things in the play and about the dynamics of power, but also about family. I think it’s allowed us to bring those to light in a way that we might not have otherwise seen.”

Shakespeare in the Park, a catch-all term often applied to outdoor showcases of the famed playwright’s works, is performed around the world not only to celebrate the Bard’s work, but to educate audiences about universality of the human condition across time and space.

“Like most of the Shakespeare stories, even though they were written in the 1600s, the message, and the things that happen to human beings are kind of evergreen,” Ms. Sponza said. “In every age, and every century, you have people who feel betrayed, who covet someone else’s position.”