After two weeks of touring throughout Virginia, the Traveling Players Ensemble returns home to perform Shakespeare's "As You Like It" at the Madeira School.

In Shakespeare's delightful comedy, the characters venture into the woods - and return transformed. Faithful cousins and vengeful siblings, city clowns and country clowns, wooing lessons and wrestling matches, poetic trees and prosaic sheep, men, women and women disguised as men: all tell this tale of how we find true love (and our true selves) in nature.

The play features the talents of Chris Baughman (Great Falls), Kaziah Brachfeld (Washington, D.C.), Maresca Brand (Arlington), Allegra Caldera (Bethesda, Md.), Olivia Delaplaine (Bethesda, Md.), Amy Elfin (Bethesda, Md.), Ryan Patrick Fields (Falls Church), Noah Franklin (Bethesda, Md.), Grace Housman (Falls Church), Jeremy Pryzby (Reston,), Morgan Shotwell (Arlington), Justin Smilan (Rochester, Mass.), Emma Rose Weaver (Arlington) and Maya Chapman Wong (London, Ontario).

Starting off the evening, the camp's youngest group, the Greek Myths Ensemble, will present its short original play, Pandora's Jar, directed by the D.C.-area theatre teacher Judy White and based on Greek mythology.

The event also doubles as a fundraising event for Traveling Players, with a silent auction, raffle and refreshments available for purchase. The audience is encouraged to come early and picnic on the lawn. Bug spray and flashlights are recommended. Lawn chairs will be available to rent or buy.

Now celebrating its tenth year, Traveling Players Ensemble is a summer theater camp for teens, whose mission is to bring great theatre into the great outdoors. "As You Like It" is presented by the camp's most advanced program: the Traveling Troupe.

Each Summer, the Traveling Troupe rehearses a full-length Shakespearean play for five weeks, then hits the road for a tour throughout Virginia, camping, hiking and performing outside for two straight weeks.

Founded in 2003, Traveling Players has been invited to perform at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, Shenandoah National Park, Reston's Multicultural Festival, and the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap.

In 2007, Traveling Players Ensemble was recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by being selected as one of 25 of the nation's "Summer School in the Arts."

Traveling Players is supported in part by the Arts Council of Fairfax County, the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In summer residence at The Madeira School since 2007, the company offers several theatre camps for ages 10 and up. Throughout the school year, they teach weekend classes in classical acting, improvisation, mask, and movement.