WESTBROOK – After a yearlong hiatus, Westbrook’s Riverbank Shakespeare Festival is back.

Starting on Friday afternoon and running through the weekend, Acorn Productions’ theater groups will present two plays written by William Shakespeare: “The War of the Roses,” a compilation of the three parts of “Henry VI” performed by members of the Naked Shakespeare theater group; and “The Tempest,” performed by the Young Actors Shakespeare Conservatory.

“We got a little burnt the year before and some of the actors didn’t want to do it. The shows weren’t overwhelmingly well attended and we were struggling with whether we were a Westbrook theater company or a Portland theater company in Westbrook,” said Michael Levine, Acorn’s producing director. “But once we realized we were a Westbrook theater company, we knew we had to do Shakespeare in the park again.”

Levine said they’ve learned from past mistakes. The performance weekend was moved so it no longer corresponded with prom weekend, which created a bit of a stir two years ago when high-schoolers attempting to take a traditional prom picture underneath the gazebo had to go elsewhere because of the play.

“We moved it to June. We’re hoping it’s not 95 degrees like it was for Together Days, but I’ve been checking long-term forecast and it looks like it’s going to be in the 70s and sunny,” Levine said.

They’ve also learned to live with an audience that might not be as big as they’d like to see.

“We try to educate people that never would have gone to see Shakespeare, so we bring it to them. If there’s only 12 people in the audience, I don’t forget that we have touched those 12 people,” Levine said.

“The War of Roses” deals with more complicated and adult themes than the teen performance of “The Tempest.”

“The plot overall is a look at what happened to civilization. It looks like everybody is happy but everybody is plotting and scheming and holy heck breaks lose,” said Levine, who directs and also abridged the three plays.

According to Levine, the play deals with many themes that are still current in today’s political system.

Last year, in lieu of the Shakespeare in the park festival, the theater group received “pretty decent exposure” performing in Portland, according to Levine, but since deciding they wanted to be a full-time Westbrook theater group, the production company has ramped up its efforts to create strong ties in the community in places like the Saccarappa Art Collective and the Frog and Turtle restaurant.

The teen Shakespeare group, with young actors from Westbrook and other greater Portland communities, is also making a return. “The Tempest” is a magical-minded play about the former Duchess of Milan, Prospera, who strives for revenge against her old foe Alonso who drove her into exile on a magical island.

Despite their name, Naked Shakespeare, Levine said all the actors will be clothed and the performances are fit for all age groups.

“It has to do with the language. The verse is naked. We don’t use a lot of props, costumes or scenery. It started in 2005 as a way of doing business; we’d jump up in random spots and spout Shakespeare. We’ve done a number of guerilla shows in the past. We’re always putting on Shakespeare where people don’t expect it,” Levine said.

Six professional actors will be joined by seven of Acorn’s students, who have been participating in a training program that started last fall.

One of those students is Brenda Chandler, who rediscovered acting three years ago, after a 30-year hiatus, when she took one of Acorn’s free acting classes.

“I took the free workshop and I came home and I thought it was like playing. You’re playing in a sandbox, you get to run around laughing or have a screaming fit. It’s physical play with others. It’s a real treat,” Chandler said.

Chandler, a Portland resident who makes her living as a writer and editor, plays the Duke of Rochester and an extra character, both killed during the play.

“It’s a kick to be playing with other actors. And the language, you almost don’t need to do anything, the language speaks for itself,” she said.

As of Monday, the actors were still rehearsing a few of the choreographed fight scenes, which include the use of real acting swords.

“As a kid you get to play around with swords, but there aren’t many opportunities to play with swords as an adult,” Chandler said.

Levine said his favorite part in “The War of Roses” comes in the third battle scene, when King Henry is narrating the battle.

“King Henry is talking about waves in the ocean and the battle lines are acting as waves. We have smoke and a live musician working with this scene and about half way through, there is a change in tone and King Henry begins to talk about how he wishes his life were simple and he was sitting under the stars. Meanwhile, people are dying in battle and there is imaginative blood everywhere,” he said.

The cast of “The War of the Roses,” a Shakespearean play opening at Riverbank Park on Friday as part of the Riverbank Shakespeare Festival, prepares for battle.