Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumna Klahr Thorsen ’91, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Theatre, is joining the International Actors Ensemble, a company formed in 2015 devoted to “exploring the power of international voices and ideas coming together to expand the possibilities of classical revivals.”

Thorsen will appear with the International Actors Ensemble in a touring production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in South Korea from September 25 through October 9. In this multi-ethnic production, Romeo and his family, the Montagues, will speak Korean, while Juliet and her family, the Capulets, will speak English; other characters with speak in other tongues, such as French or Spanish. In addition to the diversity in nationality and language of the actors, music from all over the world will mix together: traditional music and Western contemporary music are played separately and over the course of the play develop a sense of harmony. The IAE actors will be joined by Korean guest artists selected by the National Theater of the Next Generation for this production. The tour is supported by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Arts Council Korea.

“In today’s increasingly polarized world, art has a responsibility to open hearts and minds by crossing borders: national, cultural, and philosophical,” according to a statement by the IAE.

Thorsen, a native Chicagoan who now lives in Brooklyn with her husband, is a classically trained actress who has appeared on stages across the United States as well as in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Her solo show, Screw Your Courage (or The Bloody Crown), was performed Off-Broadway and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2016.