People in Our Neighborhood: Maria Twitchell

By Liz Armstrong 

This article is the second in a series people in the Festival neighborhood. Some will be new patrons of the Festival, and some like Maria Twitchell are life-long fans. We hope you enjoy getting to know our neighbors.

Maria Twitchell, executive director of Visit Cedar City • Brian Head, has been a Festival fan since childhood. She grew up in Cedar City, a block away from Festival grounds, and has been buying tickets to the plays for over thirty years. 

“I tell people all the time that in the summertime as kids we would walk up to the Shakespeare Festival so we would watch The Greenshow,” Twitchell recalled. “It gave us something to look forward to.” She also admitted that as young children, they would often try and sneak in to watch plays—until they got caught. 

Twitchell said that the Festival was a major part of her formative years, giving her a perspective she may not have otherwise had in the small town of Cedar City. 

“As a kid, it was an eye-opening experience,” Twitchell said. “We were able to see things from a different light and grow up with different people around us.”

Twitchell marvels at the success the Festival has experienced in her lifetime. “For a town of 28,000, it’s amazing that we can put on world-class theatre,” Twitchell said. “When you look at the demographic, it shouldn’t work at all. But it does, and once you’ve experienced it, it makes perfect sense.” 

Twitchell has worked for Visit Cedar City • Brian Head, Iron County’s tourism bureau, for over twenty-eight years, and has been the director since 2005. Because of her career, Twitchell works closely with the Festival. This has resulted in a connection with the Festival both in her personal and work life. 

“In regards to my job, the Festival is important because it’s an economic driver. We rely a lot on their success,” Twitchell said. “The Festival has always been a great partner, always open to ideas and working together, so we love working with them.” 

Recalling some of her favorite plays, Twitchell noted that she loves all of the productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as The Spitfire Grill and the 2014 production of The Comedy of Errors. 

Twitchell holds a special place in her heart for the Festival because of the larger point of view it gave her as a child, and so she greatly admires the education tour held annually, which brings theatre to rural communities throughout the west. 

“The community and the Festival are really ingrained together,” Twitchell said. 

Go to visitcedarcity.com to stay up to date on local news and events, and join Twitchell in purchasing tickets for this season at bard.org/plays or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Actor Relates to Struggles in Trouble in Mind

By Liz Armstrong 

NOTE: The original version of this article had the timeline and ages in the sixth paragraph incorrect. They are now corrected, and we apologize for the error.

Yvette Monique Clark, who is playing the lead role of Wiletta Mayer in the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Trouble in Mind, sees parallels between Wiletta’s struggles in the play and her own challenges she has faced as a black performer in a predominantly white industry. 

This role is close to Clark’s heart because she sees herself in Wiletta. “I relate to the struggles she goes through in the play,” Clark said. “It’s very taxing on my emotions, because I’m so close to it in that respect.”

Clark discovered the play a few years ago. As she was reading, she realized that her and Wiletta’s lives paralleled in a “modern-sense.” “Like Wiletta, I’ve had people try to pigeon-hole me into different roles, . . . and I’ve fought that throughout my career.”

Clark’s goal as the lead is to make Wiletta as “human as possible,” and to do playwright Alice Childress’s work justice. “I hope someone will point to me and say, ‘I have a cousin like that, I have an aunt like that,’” Clark said. “I want to make her as relatable as possible, because if she’s relatable, [the audience] will listen to what she has to say.”

Clark’s acting journey started for her at a young age. “As a child I was an award-winning storyteller,” Clark said. “I knew I loved being onstage.”

Her career changed direction a bit when she made the decision to pursue singing. “When I was thirty-three and my son was about nine-years old, I decided I wanted to start singing. My background is in musical theatre, but as it progressed, I branched off into doing other things,” Clark said. 

Clark’s “branching off” saw success, and she worked for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Gateway Playhouse, Capitol Repertory Theatre, New Harmony Theatre, and internationally with Living Arts Inc. and African Globe Theatreworks, as well as many others. 

Additionally, she has acted for the big screen, landing roles in the wildly popular show Orange Is the New Black, as well as Seasons of Love and Stealing Martin Lane to name a few. 

“This is my first time at the Festival,” Clark said. “This past year I was at the Denver Center for Performing Arts, the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, and the Depot Theatre.”

This is an exciting season for Clark not only because it’s her first season at the Festival, but because the role of the Countess of Rossillion in All’s Well That Ends Well is her first Shakespeare role, and the role of Wiletta in Trouble in Mind is her first time being a lead. 

Although the play premiered sixty-five years ago, it is only now that it is having its moment in the spotlight. “I wish [Childress] could see this happening now,” Clark said. “It’s great that people are getting to see this story, and maybe one day it won’t be relevant anymore. But that’s not what we can say right now.”

Ultimately, Clark hopes that the audience recognizes and sees humanity in the play. “As a human community, we forget that other people’s situations are different from ours because it’s not our reality,” Clark said. “I’m hoping this gives them a window into what happens to people of color in all walks of life, in all situations.”

Festival Announces New Marketing Manager

By Liz Armstrong 

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is excited to announce the latest member of its year-round staff: Cedar City native Brittney Corry started August 1 as the Festival’s new marketing manager. 

Corry calls herself a “southern Utah gal,” having grown up in Cedar City. She graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in strategic communication in 2014 and currently teaches dance at Cedar High School. 

The SUU alumna owned a dance studio at one point and does freelance graphic design work. She loves paddleboarding, hiking, and crafting with her two kids. Corry strongly believes in giving back to the community and hopes this position will be a great opportunity to do so. 

Her role at the Festival will include, among other duties, website curation, email marketing, and digital campaign planning and analysis. 

We are thrilled to have Brittney join the team as the marketing manager,” Director of Development and Communication Donn Jersey said. “She is from Cedar City, has a solid connection to our community and the Festival, and will bring exciting new ideas to our organization.”

Corry feels that this is the perfect job for her. “I love [technical writing] and personal relations, and that’s why I chose to pursue strategic communications,” Corry said. “But there’s also a very creative side to me. I love dance and performing arts and watching theatre, and so this is a dream opportunity.”

Corry plans to offer a unique perspective to the Festival. “I’m a local, but I sometimes feel like I don’t fit into the Cedar City climate,” Corry said. “I feel like I know what locals value but also what those visiting might be looking for.”

She said she can’t wait to start at the Festival and contribute. “I loved growing up here. The Festival felt like the biggest thing in the world, it’s sensational. So I couldn’t be more thrilled to be included and have this opportunity,” Corry concluded.

Modernizing Shakespeare

By Liz Armstrong

Shakespeare’s first plays were performed in the 1590s. This means that his plays have been seen for over 400 years, inspiring and impacting audiences around the world for centuries. Because his plays have been performed for so long, it’s understandable that updates and changes are often implemented. This year, The Tempest is utilizing projections to aid in the storytelling and has set the play in the 1990s, while Director Melinda Pfundstein decided to set All’s Well That Ends Well against the backdrop of 1940s France and Italy. 

Pfundstein explained that “Shakespeare’s plays were written through his particular lens in the world, and were relevant in his time, meant to stir conversation, provoke thought and inquiry, entertain the senses, serve as a mirror to society, and so much more.”

Even though the plays were written so long ago, the core themes remain relevant in today’s society, which is why Shakespeare is still so beloved. But modernizing the plays a bit can make them even more relatable.

“We have an opportunity with his plays to present All’s Well That Ends Well through a contemporary lens—without making any contemporary language additions, in a way that may inspire the same outcomes as Shakespeare’s time: conversation, inquiry, thought, etc., and make his themes relevant to our current world and audience,” Pfundstein said.

“His plays are repeated over and over at the Festival, and I am excited by the opportunity to breathe fresh perspective into these beloved and sometimes lesser-known stories, in a way that allows my own children to see themselves and the world around them represented within,” Pfundstein said. 

Cameron Knight, who is directing The Tempest this year, agrees, adding that modernizing any Shakespeare play allows for the audience to wrestle with the story of the plays in a more immediate way. 

“It allows for Shakespeare to truly transcend and become the representative and inclusive author that we believe him to be,” Knight said. “The impact is profound when an audience and the artists can see themselves in the work.”

Although modernizing Shakespeare is sometimes controversial, it ultimately gives audience members the opportunity to connect to the plays on an even deeper level while enjoying the fresh take directors choose to implement. 

Enjoy the productions of All’s Well That Ends Well, The Tempest, and morethis 2022 season. The changes and creative decisions that directors have made will ensure that they are productions you have never seen before, and that is the beauty of modernizing Shakespeare.

The Journey of Creating Prospero

By Liz Armstrong 

Jasmine Bracey is candid about her experience preparing to play the role of Prospero in The Tempest this summer at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. She is quick to note that there are so many things about this role that scare her. 

“I’ve seen The Tempest four times, and I think it’s a wonderful play, but I never remember Prospero, because I’ve never really followed that line of vengeance and orchestrating-puppet-master,” Bracey said. 

Bracey, who last season was at the Festival as Belarius in Cymbeline and Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel, said she was honest with director Cameron Knight about the role: “You’re having me play a character that I don’t usually care about, so how can we remedy that?”

But this isn’t a problem for Bracey, but rather an exciting challenge. “There’s so much about Prospero that I don’t understand and don’t know, but I can honestly say that I’m very excited to figure that out and go on that journey,” Bracey said. “It’s the first time I’ve really been challenged with a role.” 

Bracey encourages patrons to come and see The Tempest because of how fun it is. “Regardless of my complications with my character, the story holds. It’s messy, like life is, and in a comedic spirit, that’s really great for audience members to experience.”

Because Prospero is usually a male character played by a male actor, Bracey will give the role a fresh, female perspective. “Prospero definitely has a mercurial nature; and it will read differently, I think, coming from a female instead of a male,” she said. 

Bracey also noted that a mother-daughter relationship is viewed differently than a father-daughter relationship because “there is an assumption that females are more communication- and connection-based,” which results in the actress thinking of Miranda differently with Prospero as her mother.

“Though these relationships can be explored regardless of gender, I have a feeling that it may hit differently with me being both female and black, depending on the gender or racial biases in the audience,” Bracey said.

Ultimately, Bracey has been on a journey, trying to navigate how to make this character someone she would personally want to watch. “I’ve done Shakespeare for over a decade, and I’ve never encountered a role like this,” Bracey said. 

To see Bracey as Prospero and experience the imaginative romance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, purchase tickets at https://www.bard.org/plays/the-tempest/.

10 Things You May Not Know about The Tempest

By Liz Armstrong 

Shakespeare’s last romance, The Tempest is brimming with magic. Full of fairies, monsters, and shipwrecks, this play encompasses themes of love, harmony, and redemption. Before you see this fantastical and fun play, check out the fun facts below. 

1—Prospero battles with fitting into society, as well as knowing when to retire. Because this is one of Shakespeare’s last plays, many believe this to be a reflection of the playwright’s inner struggles as he neared the end of his career. 

2—Shorter than even A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Comedy of Errors, The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s shortest plays, coming in at just about 17,000 words. Hamlet, Shakespeare’s longest, boasts almost 30,000 words.  

3—Romeo and Juliet inspired West Side Story, while Lion King, reflects Hamlet’s themes. So what did The Tempest inspire? Yellow Sky, a 1948 Western film seems to fit the bill. 

4—Ever wonder why it’s called The Tempest? The play is named after the storm that occurs during much of the first scene. 

5—Shakespeare is said to have introduced over 1,000 words and phrases into the English language, so let’s take a peek at what he coined in this play. “Into thin air,” “brave new world,” and “in a pickle,” seem to have been popularized from The Tempest. 

6—The shipwreck in Shakespeare’s play may have been based off of a real one in 1609. William Strachey wrote A True Reportory of the Wracke and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates, Knight and many believe the playwright took inspiration from this account.

7—Of the twenty-seven known moons of the planet Uranus, twenty-four are named after characters from Shakespeare’s plays, and The Tempest provided the inspiration for the names of several—more than any other play. Curiously, Ariel isn’t one of them. There is such a moon, but it was named for a character called Ariel from Alexander Pope’s poem “The Rape of the Lock.”

8—The first recorded performance of the play was before James I for his royal court in 1611 at Whitehall Palace.

9—The Tempest has been adapted into a startling forty-six operatic productions, the first being a semi-opera in 1695 by Henry Purcell. 

10—Many times, Miranda is the only human female character in The Tempest, which means it has the fewest female characters of Shakespeare’s plays. However, many productions cast Ariel as a female, and several companies, including the Festival this season, have reimagined Prospero as a woman.

Prospero through the Years

By Liz Armstrong 

This season marks the ninth time the Utah Shakespeare Festival has produced The Tempest. That is probably true because of the love Festival audiences have for the magical and spell-binding elements of the play—the wild storms, unknown islands, and ethereal spirits. But it is also probably true because of the fascinating character of Prospero. 

Over the years, the Festival has attracted a talented group of actors to play this sometimes perplexing character. Let’s take a closer look at those actors:

1967—James Sims 

The Tempest was first produced at the Festival in 1967, over 55 years ago! Sims had previously played (in 1966) roles in Julius Caesar, Baptista Minola in The Taming of the Shrew, and Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. During the 1967 season (which was his last at the Festival), he also had roles in The Comedy of Errors and Hamlet. 

1971—Paul Cravath 

In 1969, Cravath played Marcade in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Iago in Othello. In 1970, he returned to the Festival, taking on the title role in Richard III, as well as Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor. While playing Prospero, he also balanced his last season at the Festival as Earl of Westmoreland in Henry I: Part One and Gremio in The Taming of the Shrew. 

1976—Len Alexander 

Alexander only acted in one season at the Festival, playing Prospero, as well as Decius Brutus and Luculius in Julius Caesar and an attendant in Love’s Labour’s Lost. 

1984—David Knight

Knight also appeared at the Festival for only one season, playing Prospero as well as Priam in Troilus and Cressida. He also, however, directed The Tempest. Knight studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1952. He also developed the Illinois Repertory Theater and professional acting program there, where he also worked as the artistic director.  

1989—Barry Kraft 

In his only season at the Festival, Kraft played Prospero in The Tempest, as well as Leontes in The Winter’s Tale. He has been a dramaturg of nearly 50 Shakespeare productions and has acted in 86 productions of Shakespeare’s 38 plays. His publications include After-Dinner Shakespeare and Shakespeare Insult Generator.

1995—Harold Gould 

When Gould first appeared at the Festival in 1992 to play King Lear, many audience members recognized him for his work in film and television—as the con man Kid Twist in the movie The Sting, Valerie Harper’s father on television’s Rhoda, and Betty White’s boyfriend on The Golden Girls. In 1995, he returned to the Festival to play Prospero, marking his second a last appearance here.

2007—John Pribyl

Pribyl played the role of Prospero in 2007, but worked at the Festival nearly three decades before, appearing in 1980 as Elbow in Measure for Measure, Duncan in Macbeth, and Pinch in The Comedy of Errors. He returned in 2006, cast as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and Montgomery Hawkes in Peg o’ My Heart. While filling the role of Prospero, he was also Marc in ‘Art.’ Eight seasons later, he returned to the Festival to play in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Amadeus, and Charley’s Aunt.  

2013—Henry Woronicz

Woronicz started out at the Festival in 1983, as Antonio in The Merchant of Venice and King Henry V in Henry V. Years later (in 2002), he returned to direct As You Like It. Since then, he has worked at the Festival several seasons. As an actor he has played such roles as Richard in Richard III (2003), Macbeth in Macbeth (2004), Prospero in The Tempest (2013), and Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV Part One (2018). He also directed As You Like It (2002), The Taming of the Shrew (2004), Coriolanus (2007), Titus Andronicus (2012), Richard II (2013), Henry VI Part One (2018), and The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three (2019).

2022—Jasmine Bracey

This season the Festival has cast a woman as Prospero: Jasmine Bracey is bringing new depth and humanity to this timeless role. She first came to the Festival in 2021 to play Belarius in Cymbeline and Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel. 

“I love Jasmine’s interpretation,” said Sophia K. Metcalf who is playing Ariel. “Prospero talks for almost 30 percent of the show, more than any other Shakespearean lead. It takes a lot to keep the audience engaged, and Jasmine is always finding little new ways to keep the story fresh and alive.” 

For more information about Prospero, you may want to check out the Festival’s study guide “Prospero’s Many Roles,” at https://www.bard.org/study-guides/prosperos-many-roles/.

The Creative Process of Costume Design

Take a look into the creative process of costume designer and artist Raquel Adorno by viewing her costume designs for The Tempest which is now showing at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. (View a larger image by clicking on the thumbnails above.) How do you take a beloved Shakespeare play set it in 1990s? How do you show the magic and humanity that abounds in this show through the clothing the characters are wearing? These early design sketches may give you a bit of insight.

Paiute Youth Take Center Stage at The Greenshow

Similar to last year, the Paiute Tribal Youth Performers from the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah will be taking center stage each evening before The Greenshow. Beginning at 7 p.m., the performances consist of dancing and flute playing by the young members of this talented group. Later in the season, a youth hand drum group will be added.

“The evening performer will tell a little about themselves and do the performance, whether that is dance or flute,” said Native Youth Coordinator Roger Clark. “The dancers start dancing at a [young age], usually around three years old. One of the dancers, Sully, won Best-in-Class at this year’s annual Pow Wow for Youth Men’s Fancy Dancer.” 

The flute players range in age from twelve to eighteen years old and most have been playing since 2017. Clark explained that because the flute songs are quite short, the audience can expect each flute player to play two different songs on two different flutes. 

Executive Producer Frank Mack is excited that the tribal youth are returning this year, and that some changes are being implemented. 

“It’s a more integrated show, with a smoother transition,” Mack said. 

The Greenshow Director Cassie Abate explained those changes, saying that the handoff is more of an “exchange of energy that continues into The Greenshow” so that the two performances feel like one unified piece.  

“I love that the Paiute performers are becoming a part of the fabric of The Greenshow,” Abate said. “We are visitors on this land, and so to be able to acknowledge and honor that feels so vital to the show.” 

Three different versions of The Greenshow rotate throughout the week, including “The Last Time I Saw Paris,” “British Music Hall,” and “Coronation Day.” The Greenshow is open and free to the public and begins at 7:10 p.m. Monday-Saturday on the Ashton Family Greenshow Commons just north of the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre. 

The 2022 season of the Utah Shakespeare Festival runs from June 20 to October 8 and the main stage shows are All’s Well That Ends Well, Sweeney Todd, King Lear, The Sound of Music, Trouble in Mind, Clue, The Tempest, and Thurgood. Tickets and information are available by calling 800-PLAYTIX or going online to bard.org.

RADA Is Coming to the Festival

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to Perform Much Ado about Nothing

By Liz Armstrong 

As part of a strategic partnership with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London is bringing a group of recent graduates’ touring production of Much Ado about Nothing to Festival audiences. This annual touring production has been performed in London and at European arts festivals for years, but this is the first time it will be seen in the United States.

The ninety-minute version of the play will be presented at 9:30 a.m. each day from July 26 to 30 in the Anes Studio Theatre, where audience members will have the opportunity to watch ten graduates from this prestigious London training program perform. The RADA training program boasts a number of exceptional alumni that have seen success as actors, including Alan Rickman, Allison Janney, Anthony Hopkins, Glenda Jackson, Roger Moore, Joan Collins, and Richard Attenborough. And the next RADA “star” just may be on the Festival stage this summer.

Tickets and further information are available by calling the ticket office or visiting bard.org/plays/much-ado-about-nothing/.

“I have long thought that the American approach to Shakespeare—full of gusto and verve—and the British classical elegance are companion acting styles that show why Shakespeare is beloved on both sides of the pond and throughout the English-speaking world,” said Derek Charles Livingston, interim artistic director. “Our RADA guests will provide the Festival audience a chance to witness these beautiful performing contrasts with their morning presentations of Much Ado about Nothing and our afternoon and evening offerings of King Lear, All’s Well that Ends Well, and The Tempest.  It is a rare opportunity, and I’m excited for our audiences to be part of it.”

Announced more than two years ago, the partnership between the Festival and RADA is being fully realized after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership includes a commitment to present the annual RADA play at the Festival and to hire at least one RADA student or graduate in the Festival acting company each season. (This year the Festival hired two: Aidan O’Reilly and Michael Sharon.) The five-year agreement is funded by an anonymous donor.

Frank Mack, Festival executive producer, said the artistic exchange program idea began with a simple discussion of the play Hamlet, which the Festival was producing in 2019. “A friend of the Festival mentioned he had seen an exceptional production of Hamlet at RADA, and so we wanted to talk to them about that,” Mack said. That conversation soon expanded into a strategic partnership between the two theatre companies.

Mack noted that this is an exciting partnership because it gives RADA actors the opportunity to come to the U.S. and possibly build a career here while also giving our audiences the opportunity to see magnificent artists from a European training academy. 

“The opportunity for the Festival to expand its artistic horizons beyond our shows and collaborate with one of the most prestigious training academies in the world provides access for our audience to another dimension of theatre performance that we wouldn’t otherwise see,” Mack concluded.

Niamh Dowling, the principal at RADA, added: “I am delighted that we have this excellent partnership with the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Our Shakespeare for Young Audiences program performs specially adapted Shakespeare plays to children all over London, including on occasion in the garden of Number 10 Downing Street. We are thrilled to be visiting for the first time and to share Much Ado about Nothing with you. Huge and sincere thanks to the Utah Shakespeare Festival for your partnership, support, and friendship.”