It is a new era for Project Shakespeare, with founder Deborah Shakespeare Thurber handing the director baton over to program alumni Ben Michaud and Lif Petrova.

“I knew this day would come, just not quite so soon. But how fortunate I am to have two well-trained, skilled, compassionate and generous directors as Lif Petrova and Ben Michaud,” Thurber said.

Thurber, who has run the youth theater program in the Monadnock region for more than 30 years, is stepping back from directing for health reasons.

Thurber said while it is “hard not to be in rehearsal,” she is focused on the program moving forward.

“This is my 32nd year of directing Project Shakespeare. So much of my personal identity is Project Shakespeare. But that said, Project Shakespeare has, and never should be, about me, or any director. It should be about the students, and this year, it is all about the students. I am grateful to Ben and Lif for sharing their talents and time to take on this enormous project, and I look forward to seeing the company’s engaging productions.”

Michaud and Petrova, who are co-directing “Twelfth Night” for this year’s summer production, have both been performing with Project Shakespeare since they were children.

Michaud, who just graduated from ConVal High School, is headed to Emerson College in the fall, while Petrova just completed her first year at the Tisch School for Performing Arts at New York University.

Michaud said he assumed he would move on from Project Shakespeare after graduating from high school, but when Thurber asked if he could come back and help this summer, he immediately said yes.

“Lif has been working with Deborah for five months now, but when she asked me to come back and help, I said of course,” Michaud said. “I definitely feel ready.”

Michaud is putting in 14-hour days directing Project Shakespeare in addition to his regular summer job, but it is a labor of love.

“I like working with these kids a lot. A lot of us have been working together for many years,” Michaud said. “I like directing. The kids are always so ready to work, everyone has brought ideas to the table, and it’s going to be a great show,” Michaud said. “Directing is a lot, but these kids make it easy.”

Lif Petrova, rear left, and Ben Michaud, rear right, at rehearsal of Project Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Credit: JESSECA TIMMONS/Ledger-Transcript

Thurber said Project Shakespeare is “first and foremost a theatre education program.”

“What a great opportunity for Ben and Lif to take on the responsibility of getting both ‘Speak the Speech’ and ‘Twelfth Night’ to performance while teaching the students how to create a character, to use Shakespeare’s language to tell a story, and to create an ensemble with the other students. This is theatre education at its best,” Thurber said.

Along with enjoying her role as the assistant director, Petrova has a special connection to “Twelfth Night.”

“‘Twelfth Night’ was my very first show with Project Shakespeare, when I was eleven or twelve. I really hope she would pick it as our play this summer, and I am so excited to assistant direct this show,” Petrova said.

Petrova said her all-time favorite play is “Much Ado About Nothing,” but “Twelfth Night” has a special place in her heart. Petrova said she first encountered “Twelfth Night” from a Shakespeare sticker book she had as a child.

“I found the ‘Twelfth Night’ page, and I read the synopsis, and even as a little kid, I was like ‘Mama, this play is so cool!’ And my mom said, well, you know Deborah is doing that play this summer, and I was like ‘Can I do it?'” Petrova said. “Then I found ‘Twelfth Night’ in the ‘Complete Works of Shakespeare,’ and I read through the entire uncut play, and I found the part about Valentine, and said, ‘I want to play Valentine.'”

Petrova said she loved being around the vibrant New York theater scene in her freshman year at NYU. This year, she was assistant stage manager for a production of “Imogen Says Nothing,” a comedy inspired by the silent character of Innogen in “Much Ado About Nothing.”

The cast of Project Shakespeare Twelfth Night rehearsing at the Old Jaffrey Meetinghouse. Credit: JESSECA TIMMONS/Ledger-Transcript

An eight-stop regional tour of the popular comedy kicks off July 30.

The cast features Eleanora Kishinevsky and Ariella Leifer sharing the roles of Viola and Maria, alongside Margaret Bennett as Sebastian, Counsel Chronopoulos as Duke Orsino, Miranda Pipitone as Countess Olivia, and Tess Geana as Malvolio.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under, available at the door 30 minutes before each performance.

The tour schedule includes the following performances:

  • Thursday, July 30: 6 p.m. at the Jaffrey Meeting House, 15 Laban Ainsworth Way, Jaffrey Center.
  • Saturday, Aug. 1: 2 p.m. at the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church, 25 Main St., Peterborough.
  • Sunday, Aug. 2: 4 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 6 Payson Hill Road, Rindge.
  • Wednesday, Aug. 5: 6 p.m. outdoor performance at Fassett Farm Nursery, 822 Mountain Road, Jaffrey (audience members are invited to bring picnics).
  • Thursday, Aug. 6: 6 p.m. under the gazebo at Milliken Manor, 580 Mountain Road, Jaffrey, with a rain location inside the barn.
  • Friday, Aug. 7: 6 p.m. at the Dublin Community Center, 1123 Main St., Dublin.
  • Sunday, Aug. 9: 4 p.m. at the Pine Hill Auditorium at High Mowing School, 222 Isaac Frye Highway, Wilton.
  • Monday, Aug. 10: 6 p.m. on the outdoor stage at The Peterborough Players, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, with a rain location inside the rehearsal hall.

More information can be found at projectshakespeare.org.