The Sweet Briar College Babcock Fine Arts Center season begins with a production of Oliver Goldsmith's "She Stoops to Conquer" by Shenandoah Shakespeare Express on Friday, Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Murchison Lane Auditorium, Babcock Fine Arts Center.

SSE is the touring arm of Staunton, Va.-based Shenandoah Shakespeare and the Blackfriars Playhouse, the world's only re-creation of William Shakespeare's indoor theater. The play is part of the company's 2004-05 "Ripe with Mischief" tour, which also presents Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" and "Twelfth Night" in performances across the U.S. through March 2005.

"She Stoops to Conquer" is directed by Jim Warren, Shenandoah Shakespeare co-founder and artistic director. The play is considered one of the comic jewels of the English theatre, lampooning the quirks and customs of 18th-century England - from matchmaking and marriage to character and class. Aptly subtitled "The Mistakes of a Night," the lighthearted farce turns several imminent romances upside down through an absurd series of deceptions, disguises, and mistaken identities.

The internationally acclaimed SSE is an energetic cast assembled from all over the country. The ensemble performs under conditions closely approximating those for which Shakespeare wrote: directors and a small cast of actors commit "two hours' traffic of our stage" to double roles, thrust staging, and universal lighting, which ensures that audience and actors can see and engage each other. In short, SSE aims to give audiences some of the pleasures an Elizabethan playgoer would have enjoyed.

The group has toured 47 states and five foreign countries since its 1988 inception. In 2001, Shenandoah Shakespeare put down roots when it opened Blackfriars Playhouse, which has hosted more than 125,000 visitors from 49 states. The company seeks to make Shakespeare accessible to all through its performances and extensive education programs.

"She Stoops to Conquer" at Sweet Briar is funded in part by a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. To reserve tickets, please call the SBC Babcock Theatre Box Office at (434) 381-6120. For a listing of theatre and arts events at Sweet Briar, please visit scene.sbc.edu. For a complete Shenandoah Shakespeare tour schedule, please visit shenandoahshakespeare.com.