Educational Tour Hitting the Road
CEDAR CITY, UT– The Utah Shakespeare Festival is once again hitting the road with its Shakespeare-in-the-Schools touring production—this year performing the story of monsters and fairies, betrayal, revenge, and forgiveness, William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
The tour will be performing 67 shows for over 120 schools and 25,000 students throughout the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The cast and crew will be on the road for fourteen weeks from January through April to bring this classic comedy to schools, community centers, and correctional facilities. Students will have the chance to watch the show and then participate in a post-show discussion and workshops in Stage Combat, Performing Shakespeare’s Text, Technical Theatre and Developing Character through Improvisation.
The Tempest will premiere on January 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. General admission tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Festival ticket office at 800-PLAYTIX (800-752-9849) or online at www.bard.org. Tickets purchased ahead of time will be available at will call in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. On the night of the performance, only cash and checks will be accepted at the Randall Theatre door, whereas credit and debit cards will be accepted at the main ticket office next to the Anes Theatre. Admission is free for SUU students.
Christopher DuVal is returning to the Festival, this year as director of the touring production. He worked at the Festival as an actor in numerous roles in the 1990s and as the fight director in various shows from 2012 to 2015. He is currently the head of the Actor Training Program at the University Utah and has worked extensively in many theatres across the country, including eighteen years at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
There are some familiar faces this season who have worked at the Festival before. Trent Dahlin (Prospero) is a Cedar City native and has appeared at the Festival the past two years, most recently as Dennis in As You Like It and Abraham Grey/Musician in Treasure Island in 2017. He received his BFA in musical theatre from Southern Utah University. Josh Durfey (Ferdinand/Antonio) is a Salt Lake City-born actor who has performed at the Festival since 2014. He studied classical acting at SUU and has appeared at Pickleville Playhouse, the Neil Simon Festival, Hale Center Theatre, and more. Stefanie Resnick**,** originally from New York, appeared in the 2017 Festival tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Hermia/Quince/Peaseblossom. She received her M.F.A. in performance from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas and has worked regionally and in New York City. Tony Sloan (Stephano/Sebastian) has worked in the Festival Ticket Office the past couple of years and received his B.S. degree in theatre and political science from SUU where he is currently a candidate for his M.A. in arts administration. Previous work includes The Laramie Project, Twelfth Night, and directing Really Really.
The other actors in the cast have brought their talents to The Tempest from many different theatres and productions across the country. Erica Alexandra Carvalho (Miranda/Boatswain) received her BFA in theatre from the University of Utah. She has acted for Pinnacle Acting Company, The Grand Theatre, Plan B Theatre, and Salt Lake Acting Company, and Pioneer Theatre Company. Ava Kostia (Ariel) is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a B.A. in musical theatre. Most recently having played Laertes at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, she is also a certified Apprentice Teacher of Dueling Arts International. Christobal Iniguez Perez (Caliban/Gonzalo), a California native, received a B.F.A. in acting from Utah State University. He has previously worked with Pacific Conservatory Theater (PCPA), Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival, and Lyric Repertory Company.
The three crew members on the tour come from various backgrounds and experience. They work behind the scenes to make this Shakespeare-in-the-Schools production possible. Emma Horvath (Stage Manager) hails from the Chicago area and graduated from Northwestern University. She recently completed an internship with Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity and is returning to the Utah Shakespeare Festival after working on The Tavern last fall. Devery North is a Kansas City native and graduate of Stephens College. She worked previously with the Festival for the 2015 season and the 2016 and 2017 educational tours. She has also worked with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival. Ryan Turpin (technical director) is a graduate of SUU and has worked at the Festival for a number of years, most recently as audio supervisor for the 2017 season.
In addition to support from the Shakespeare for a New Generation program which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, this tour’s school performance partners are the Utah State Office of Education: Professional Outreach Programs in the Schools, Mountain West Small Business Finance, Ally Bank, and Southern Utah University.
For more information, visit www.bard.org/tour
