A Chat with Fred Adams

It’s been a rainy, cool spring in Cedar City, but our rehearsals are underway and construction for the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts is progressing. All in all, a perfect time to chat with Fred C. Adams, founder of the Festival and director of this year’s The Taming of the Shrew.

First, we asked Fred about his thoughts regarding the new theatre and how the guest experience will differ from the Adams.

I think I’m most excited about seeing how much is happening every day. It’s just thrilling to watch. Every day something else is added. By the first week of June, they’ll start the actual super structure of the theatre.

When in the new theatre, my hope is that our patrons won’t even notice it’s different.  The actual actor to audience relationship is almost identical. It’s still intimate and the sense of entrance/exits is the same. What will be different will be the comfort – the niceties of restrooms, and elevators. It will be a safer environment and totally ADA compliant. Everything will be on one side of the street so patrons can enjoy the Greenshow and then go to a performance without dodging cars.

You might have seen the recent article about the history of the Adams Theatre. We were curious about Fred’s favorite memory in that theatre and his thoughts about this last season.

Oh, I have so many. My favorite was the opening day in the Adams. In 1971, I was directing The Tempest and during our final dress rehearsal we were threading ourselves through scaffolding.  

This season, it’s a chance for me to direct one last time in that lovely building. The three closing nights will be quite emotional, especially the last night on September 5, as we dim those lights for the last time. We have quite a celebration planned for each of the last three nights.

This will be the fourth time that Fred has directed The Taming of the Shrew. We asked what we can expect from this production.

It’s set in Italy, during the high renaissance. It’s in Padua – country Italy, not court Italy. The sets are beautiful with peeling plaster, potted palms, walls covered in wisteria and bougainvillea. There’s original music, very Italian, created by our sound designer, Joe Payne.

This production is a love story. I’m hoping the audience will see it as two perfectly matched energetic emotional people who find their way together, to a perfect partnership.

We have to remember that there is a large age gap between Kate and Bianca. Their mother passed away during childbirth with Bianca and their father was left to raise them. The father put all of his attention on Bianca, the younger, more spoiled sister.

As Bianca grows into young womanhood she’s found out she can get anything she wants. As a result, Kate is shunted further and further back. Kate’s only outlet to get attention is striking out.

Petruchio has come to Padua from Verona, with only one intent. There are loads of “Biancas” in Verona. He’s looking for a soul mate, an emotional and psychological equal. And he finds her right off the bat in Kate. He recognizes it immediately. That’s important in this production. They both recognize immediately that there is finally a solution to their problem – each other.

You can learn more about this play, including cast, director interviews and designs, at http://www.bard.org/plays/2015/the-taming-of-the-shrew

You can learn more about the history of the Adams Theatre at http://www.bard.org/news/red-rocks-and-the-wooden-o

Performances begin on June 25 and run through September 5 for the Summer Season.

You can purchase tickets for the 2015 season at https://boxoffice.bard.org/TheatreManager/95/login&event=_&search=PB_PERF_FLAG%3C%3E%27E%27 or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Red Rocks and the Wooden O

Red Rocks and the Wooden O

By Ryan D. Paul

William Shakespeare, in the prologue to Henry V referred to the stage as an “unworthy scaffold.” In the early days of Elizabethan theatre, traveling troupes would erect crude scaffolds and place planks over them to create a quick stage. In 1962, with its inaugural performance of The Taming of the Shrew, the Utah Shakespeare Festival continued this tradition—rolling out construction materials and production equipment in the summer and taking them down at the close of the season. However, by 1969 the ravages of time and the elements were obvious. An increasing amount of money and effort was spent each year in repairing or replacing parts of the stage. After a decade of operation the Festival needed a permanent home. This new theatre, nestled within the red rocks of southern Utah and soon to be named the Adams Memorial Shakespearean Theatre, would launch the Festival into a new era of production and itself would be a character in every performance. The “unworthy scaffold” would become the “wooden O” for this young Shakespeare company.

Douglas N. Cook had joined the Festival in 1964. While teaching drama at the University of California at Riverside, he had heard of the new Shakespeare festival in Cedar City from his friend Michael Addison, and he became intrigued. Addison had worked as a director for the Festival in 1963 and recognized that Cook would be a strong addition to the creative team. Festival Founder Fred C. Adams welcomed Cook with open arms. Cook was especially adept at designing scenery for Shakespeare productions. Under Cook’s guidance, the props department blossomed, and the sets better reflected the periods that designers were trying to represent. At the conclusion of the 1969 season, Doug and his wife, Joan, decided to remain in Cedar City for a few more weeks while Doug applied his talent for design to work up some rough sketches for a new outdoor theatre space.

Cook had been doing research into the major elements of many Elizabethan theatres. While no blueprints of Shakespeare’s Globe existed, many other designs of similar spaces were available. During the company’s first ten years, Adams and the Festival production teams had experimented with various stage locations and had discovered the most desirable spot. With location settled, Cook was able to design the new theatre to fit within very specific dimensions.

Based upon his research, Cook knew that the new theatre would need to have three essential elements. First, it must have a thrust stage (this meant that the performance space would be surrounded on three sides by seats); second, it must have a gallery or multi-level seating; and, third, it must be open to the air. All of these designs were in every major Elizabethan theatre of Shakespeare’s day and would be necessary for the Festival’s new space. Cook and Adams understood that the space defines the play, that producing the works of Shakespeare in a space similar to that in which they would have originally been performed would assist in transporting the audience into another world. This theatre would become a character itself. Everything the Utah Shakespeare Festival had learned about producing the Bard would go into the design of the theatre.

With designs in hand, Adams now began the search for financial support. In an early proposal to the College of Southern Utah (now Southern Utah University), Adams argued that the new theatre could be used for a variety of purposes, including “band concerts, dance reviews, lectures, road show competitions, out-of-door movies, school assemblies, Easter sunrise services, pep rallies, astronomy classes, and commencement.” Although the college agreed with the need for a space like the one Adams proposed, they could not meet the financial needs of the project.

Adams, then turned to private funding sources. He achieved success when three generous donors, Dr. Obert C. and Grace Adams Tanner, Sadie Barnard, and Dean B. Eggertson agreed to fund the bulk of the project. Additionally, the theatre would now be dedicated to the parents of Mrs. Tanner, Thomas and Luella Adams, and be known as the Adams Memorial Shakespeare Theatre—lovingly referred to now as the Adams Theatre.

Under the direction of Max Anderson, an architect for the State of Utah building board, who worked on the project on a pro bono basis, the outdoor theatre began to take shape. The theatre would be constructed in phases, beginning with the tiring house and then the seating area. Technical and electrical planning also factored heavily into the design of the Adams Theatre. Cameron Harvey (later a producing director at the Festival) worked tirelessly to design a state-of-the-art lighting and sound system that would be unnoticeable to the audience but enhance the performance. The technical and physical design of the Adams Theatre would help establish it as one of the most talked about theatres in the country.

In 1977 the Adams Theatre was complete. The tiring house had been finished a few years earlier; and, despite being called upon to remove the construction scaffolding just forty-five minutes before the first performance, the actors loved the new stage. Utah Shakespeare Festival guests soon fell in love with the new space and validated its existence with sold out performances. In 1981, the British Broadcasting Company searched the world for a proper space to produce a series of theatre programs and found the Adams Theatre to be a perfect spot to focus on the Elizabethan period of world theatre. They added further acclaim by announcing “there’s not a theatre like this in England, Asia, or Europe.”

Tragedy nearly befell the Utah Shakespeare Festival when on February 25, 2000, fire consumed much of the light and sound booth and part of the roof of the Adams Theatre. The blaze was quickly contained and the damage was repaired by opening night in June. The theatre had escaped the fate of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre, which was completely destroyed by fire during a production of Henry VIII in 1613. Most recently, in 2011, the Adams Theatre hosted its first ever live broadcast. In partnership with BYUtv, the Utah Shakespeare Festival sent its production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream over the airwaves. This collaboration, which lead to an Emmy Award for BYUtv, further cemented the Festival and the Adams Theatre’s place in the popular culture of Utah.

Now, like a great battleship, the Adams Theatre is soon to be decommissioned. The mighty Wooden O has served its purpose in enriching, entertaining, and educating the lives of those who sat in her seats and witnessed her bounty. Like the stage before, the passage of time and changing technology have taken their toll. The new Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre is already rising and a new Wooden O will stand guard over the works of the Bard and serve as an anchor for the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s future.  The Engelstad  Shakespeare Theatre will provide an amazingly rich theatrical experience for Utah Shakespeare Festival audiences. While preserving the character and up close and personal style of the Adams Theatre, the Engelstad Theatre will be located closer to the Randall L. Jones Theatre, have additional restrooms (always a plus), and be ADA accessible.  This new theatre is the next step in further elevating the capacity of the Utah Shakespeare Festival to continually produce artistic, relevant, and meaningful productions of William Shakespeare’s work.

Hundreds of thousands of people have made the Adams Theatre part of their story and hundreds of thousands more will discover Shakespeare and themselves at the Engelstad Theatre.  If William Shakespeare is to be believed that “what’s past is prologue,” an amazing future it will be.

Affordable Option for Students

Utah Shakespeare Festival Provides Affordable Option for Students

In an effort to help students attend the Utah Shakespeare Festival at reduced prices, the Festival has announced the return of the Student Access Pass. This pass can be purchased for a one-time fee, and it gives the student the ability to attend as many Festival plays as he or she wants, at no additional cost.

The Student Access Pass is now on sale. It is $35 and allows one student unlimited access to Festival productions from June 25 through October 31, 2015. Students must present their student ID to purchase the Student Access Pass at the Festival Ticket Office. To redeem tickets, students can visit the Festival website at bard.org or go to the Ticket Office and show their student ID. Tickets are non-transferable.

“Students are on limited budgets, but full of passion for the Festival,” said Michael Bahr, education director. “These Student Access Passes offer an affordable option for students to enjoy our shows.”

Tickets are on sale for the Festival’s 54th season, which will run from June 25 to October 31, 2015. The eight-play season includes Shakespeare’s King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV Part Two and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.  The season will also include Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas and Steven Dietz’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is the professional theatre at Southern Utah University.

Celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday

Celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday with the Utah Shakespeare Festival

CEDAR CITY, UT— The Bard’s Birthday Bash, a chance for students to share their theatrical work and enjoy a birthday party for Williams Shakespeare, is scheduled for April 23 and 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the grounds surrounding the Adam’s Shakespearean Theatre.

Sponsored by the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the bash is an exciting and enthusiastic way of exposing kids to the Bard’s works through their own performances, as well as by observing the efforts of other students. Students will also participate in period activities such as jousting and maypole games, as well as enjoying cake with Queen Elizabeth I.

“We’ll have kids here from Cedar City, St. George and other southern Utah communities,” said Festival Education Director Michael Bahr. Like many of the other educational outreach programs, the Bard’s Birthday Bash has proven to be more popular and successful than anyone imagined.

“When we began this birthday idea we had 250 students participate, now we have over 1800 attend, and it keeps growing,” said Bahr. “Our goal is to get local elementary school students acquainted with Shakespeare through their own performance of his words. That way, they find that Shakespeare is a lot easier to understand than they thought.”

Even after 451 years, Shakespeare has a strong impact and influential role on people’s educational upbringing. Associate Education Director Josh Stavros expressed his views on the literary merit of the Bard by saying, “William Shakespeare’s work is considered and treated as the greatest literature in the English language. As soon as kids know it and experience it, the better learners they’ll become because Shakespeare’s works encompass every emotional experience human beings have.”

Shakespeare has permeated the Western culture, and around every corner is a reference to his incredible works. His intellectually rich stories and characters have influenced numerous books, movies and television shows. Even our everyday language has been shaped by the common phrases he originally coined*,* including dead as a doornail, a laughing stock, fair play, a wild goose chase, neither here nor there, just to name a few. For decades, Shakespeare has been the most frequently studied and performed playwright around the world.

“It’s our mission at the Festival to make sure everyone we encounter understands Shakespeare, and that starts from a very young age,” said Stavros. “We believe that when people grasp the power of his language that they’ll love it and become life long supporters.”

Shakespeare’s contemporary, Ben Jonson noted that, “He was not of an age, but for all time!” Four centuries later, Jonson’s words still ring true.

Discover a New Play

New American Playwrights Project at the Utah Shakespeare Festival

Cedar City, UT- The 23rd annual New American Playwrights Project (NAPP) will take the stage at the Utah Shakespeare Festival from August 7 to August 28. Three plays will be presented as staged readings in the Auditorium Theatre on selected dates. Chosen fromhundreds of plays submitted, this year’s lineup includes Affluence by Steve Peterson, Caesars Blood by Rich Rubin, and Closure by James McLindon.

Tickets are $10 each and are on sale now at 1-800-PLAYTIX and www.bard.org.

Audience members will have the unique opportunity to see a staged reading of these new pieces and take part in a discussion with the playwright, director and actors. These discussions are essential to the development of these plays and the playwright.

Tough times have hammered the once-wealthy Woodley clan in Affluence. Yet the week after Christmas, hope is restored. Grandmother is dying and will leave them a bundle. Only there’s a problem: Inheritance tax rates surge at the stroke of midnight, and the old gal isn’t gone yet. What does a desperate family do? And who else is at risk on the slippery slope of murder? It’s a dark comedy indeed, written by Chicago native Steven Peterson, a two-time winner of the Julie Harris Playwright Award and the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition. Directing Affluence is Frank Honts, and it plays August 7, 8 and 26.

The Civil War is raging in the play, Caesars Blood, and President Lincoln has just been re-elected. In New York, Julius Caesar is being performed, starring the famous Booth brothers—Edwin, Junius Brutus, and John Wilkes. John is a believer in the Confederate cause; his older brothers are supporters of the Union. Before and after the play, the three spar about politics and so much more. Caesars Blood by Rich Rubin is a play based, as the saying goes, on true events. Rubin’s plays have been produced throughout the United States and internationally in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, and Mexico. Directed by Joshua Stavros, Caesars Blood plays August 14, 15 and 27.

As Brian lies dying, he is desperate to reconcile with his estranged children in Closure. His only hope is the somewhat askew, sweet, and profane Virgin Mary, who appears to him in a Percocet haze dispensing advice about children, salvation, and Hieronymus Bosch. Closure by James McLindon is a drama with comedy about the endgame of a dysfunctional life and a broken family trying desperately to mend itself before its last chance is gone forever. McLindon plays have been produced at theatres across the nation, including Samuel French Festival, Ashland New Plays Festival, Boston Playwrights Theatre and Arkansas Rep. Closure is directed by Drew Shirley and plays August 21, 22 and 28.

“It is an exciting week to have the playwrights in residence,” said Chuck Metten, director of NAPP. “We make a strong commitment to American theatre. Without new plays, theatre will disappear. Many of the plays that go through NAPP get produced at other theatres which creates more jobs in the industry.”

Playwright biographies and more information are available at http://www.bard.org/plays/napp2015.html.

Through the New American Playwrights Project, selected playwrights spend time at the Festival working on a new play with actors from the company, and then present it to an audience, followed by instructive discussion between the playwright, actors, and audience members.

The plays in this series are written for contemporary adult audiences and may occasionally contain themes and language not appropriate for children and that some may find offensive.

Calling All Dogs!

Calling All Dogs!

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is looking for the perfect pooch to play the role of Crab in its upcoming fall production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

The dog must be calm, friendly, and comfortable in front of large crowds. All breeds are acceptable. Rehearsals begin August 17, with performances running September 26 to October 30.

Previous stage-experience a plus, but not a necessity. The owner of the dog will be paid, but is responsible for having the dog at the theatre for rehearsals and performances.

If interested, please submit a photo of your dog, along with a small description of its weight, breed, abilities, and any contact information to casting@bard.org.

The Festival will begin considering applications on April 17, 2015.

Playmakers Production of Honk! Jr. Flies in this April

Honk! Jr. Flies in this April

The students of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Playmakers program invite you to their upcoming production of Honk! Jr. This musical adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s story of The Ugly Duckling will run from April 9 through April 13 in the Auditorium Theatre at Southern Utah University.

General admission tickets are $5 for children and students, $8 for adults. They can be purchased by calling 435-586-7878 or online at www.bard.org.

Honk! Jr. is a heart-warming musical about the ugly duckling and self-discovery, tolerance and acceptance. Its charm, humor and message are perfect for the whole family.

“Honk! Jr.  has marvelous music, charismatic characters and a story that both adults and little ones can relate to,” said Education Director Michael Bahr. “It’s very cute, but at the same time there are lessons of life about bullying, peer pressure, being yourself, loss and love.”

“This production has allowed us to be wonderfully creative,” continued Bahr. “We always try to create productions where we tell the story in creative, innovative theatrical ways. Because of the design, I know audiences will be talking about this performance and the way we are presenting it for many years.”

Interviews and photo opportunities are available upon request.

First Round of Casting

Pfundstein

Ashdown

Sham

Ivers

Utah Shakespeare Festival Reveals First Round of Casting

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is proud to announce the casting of the first eight actors for the 2015 season. All are familiar faces, having appeared at the Festival in the past. Actors include Tony Amendola, Melinda Pfundstein, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, Sam Ashdown, Betsy Mugavero, Peter Sham, David Ivers and Brian Vaughn. Please check for complete casting available soon at www.bard.org.

After several seasons performing in the hit ABC television show, Once Upon a Time, Tony Amendola is back this year in the title role of King Lear.  He’ll also be appearing in Henry IV Part Two.Amendola was last at the Festival in 2010 appearing as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and The Porter in Macbeth. Television credits include Once Upon a Time, Continuum, CSI: NY, Dexter, Stargate and The Practice.

Melinda Pfundstein**,** who has appeared in numerous roles at the Festival, will perform this year as Kate in The Taming of the Shrew and Goneril in King Lear. Many Festival-goers will remember Pfundstein for her acclaimed portrayals last year as Olivia in Twelfth Night, Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods and Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. She has also appeared in such roles as Rosaline in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Constance in King John, Fantine in Les Misérables, Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, and many others.

Aaron Galligan-Stierle will take on Luther Billis, the crafty sailor in South Pacific, and Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew. At the Festival last season, Galligan-Stierle played Dromio of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors and Feste in Twelfth Night. Previous seasons he has performed in Peter and the Starcatcher, Anything Goes, The Merchant of Venice, The 39 Steps, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Room Service and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Sam Ashdown returns as Prince Hal in Henry IV Part Two. Ashdown will also be Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew and part of the King Lear ensemble. Ashdown made his Festival debut last year as the young Prince Hal in Henry IV Part One and John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility. He’s performed at a variety of theatres including Chicago Shakespeare Festival, Northlight Theatre, American Players Theatre and Broadway Playhouse.

After a year away, Betsy Mugavero will return to the Festival to play Constanze, the flirtatious and resilient wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus. She will also appear as Kitty Verdun in Charley’s Aunt. Mugavero’s past Festival credits include Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher and Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s Lost in 2013. She’s also been in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Noises Off!, The Winters Tale, As You Like It, Henry V, The School for Wives, and The Taming of the Shrew

Peter Sham, head of the acting and directing program for Southern Utah University’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance,joins the Festival company as Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew. He’ll also have roles in King Lear and *Henry IV Part Two.*Sham is most recently known for his work as book writer/lyricist on Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical, which celebrated a successful run at the Gielgud Theatre on London’s West End. Sham has been in several productions at the Festival, and has performed at the Asolo Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre, Eastside Playhouse, Perry Street Theatre, Artpark and Yale Cabaret.

Along with directing this season, both Artistic Directors, David Ivers and Brian Vaughn, join the acting company with Ivers appearing as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus and Vaughn as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.

As an actor Ivers, had been in over forty productions throughout eighteen seasons, including title roles in Richard II and Scapin. Festival directing credits include Twelfth Night, Twelve Angry Men, Romeo and Juliet, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abriged).

Vaughn has played over forty roles in the past twenty years, including the title roles in Hamlet, Henry V and Cyrano de Bergerac. Festival directing credits include Henry IV, Part One, Peter and the Starcatcher, Dial M for Murder, Greater Tuna, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare in the Schools).

Amendola

Galligan-Stierle

Mugavero

Vaughn

Nine Talented Directors Announced for 54th Season

Brian Vaughn

David Ivers

J.R. Sullivan 

Jesse Berger

Nine highly-talented directors from across the country are already knee-deep in costume designs, scenery sketches, and play scripts as they prepare to create the transformative stories of their plays for the 54th season of the Utah Shakespeare Festival June 25 to October 31.

As a tribute to the venerable and much-loved Adams Shakespearean Theatre, Festival Founder Fred C. Adams will be directing The Taming of the Shrewas part of that theatre’s farewell year. After this year, the Festival will be moving its outdoor productions to the Engelstad Theatre, which is currently under construction. “I am thrilled to be able to direct one last time in this lovely theatre,” said Adams. “While The Taming of the Shrew is a delightful comedy, I feel that it is also a beautiful love story, and we will have a lot of fun discovering this often-overlooked facet of this delicious play."

Artistic Director Brian Vaughn will direct the fourth play in the Festival’s continuing History Cycle, Henry IV Part Two. Vaughn directed Henry IV Part One last year and is excited to be continuing the story with the same design team.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for our audience to see the progression of characters, within a recognizable context of design that will hopefully help provide clarity for the continuity of the story,” said Vaughn. “Henry IV Part Two is a very different play than *Part One;*there is a greater sense of melancholy throughout and where Part One is all about youth and rebellion, Part Twois very much about age and people dying away. It also has a fabulous cliff-hanger at the end which propels us into Shakespeare’s greatest treatise on war, Henry V.”

Sharon Ott will direct the famous tragedy of King Learwith Tony Amendola playing the title role*.* Ott and Amendola worked together at the Festival in 2010 when Ott directed The Merchant of Venice and Amendola played the role of Shylock. Ott has directed at theaters throughout the country including Playwrights Horizons, Public Theater, Manhattan Theater Club in New York, Arena Stage, South Coast Repertory, Huntington Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and many others.

*Charley’s Aunt,*the hilarious British farce, will be directed by Artistic Director David Ivers. Ivers has directed many productions at the Festival including last year’s Twelfth Night and 2013’s Twelve Angry Men. Love, romance, and secret disguises drive the plot of Charley’s Aunt, which will play throughout the Festival season, from June to October.

After directing last summer’s gold rush themed The Comedy of Errors, Brad Carroll is back at the Festival directing this year’s musical, South Pacific. Carroll has been involved with numerous productions at the Festival including*, Les Misérables, Johnny Guitar, HMS Pinafore*,Spitfire Grill. South Pacific is one of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s most beloved musicals with songs such as “Some Enchanted Evening” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair.”

J.R. Sullivan will direct Amadeus, Peter Shaffer’s brilliant fictionalized account of the lives of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antionio Salieri. Sullivan has directed many productions at the Festival, including Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, *Stones in His Pockets, The Glass Menagerie, Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear,andThe Importance of Being Earnest.*Other theatre credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Robynn Rodriguez returns to the Festival to direct Shakespeare’s romantic adventure The Two Gentleman of Verona. In 2013 Rodriguez made her professional directorial debut at the Utah Shakespeare Festival with the acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s, King John. A classically trained actor, Rodriguez received her MFA from ACT and was a member of the resident acting company at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 22 seasons where she appeared in over 40 productions. Chockfull of confused men, cunning maidens, and a hilarious and sly dog, The Two Gentleman of Veronawill delight anyone who has ever been in love or would like to be.

Directing the frightfully exciting Draculais Jesse Bergerwho is the founding artistic director of Red Bull Theater, an off-Broadway theater in New York City. Berger has directed new plays and classics for The Old Globe, Denver Center, Pittsburgh Public, PlayMakersRep, Barrington Stage and many more. Steven Dietz’sadaptation of Bram Stoker’s Draculawill run this fall through Halloween. Get ready to sink your teeth into the story of the world’s most famous vampire.

This year’s Greenshow will once again be directed by Associate Education Director Josh Stavros. Last year Stavros directed the Greenshow along with Fred C. Adams. There will be three different themed nights for patrons to enjoy, each one taking elements of classic songs and dances. The free pre-show entertainment features spirited song and dance, the perfect way to spend thirty minutes before that evening’s show. Add Elizabethan sweets, and you’ll have a fun-filled frolic to prepare you for the main stage performance that follows.

“I’m very much looking forward to engaging with these six powerful and entertaining plays, said Ivers. “It will be particularly lovely to witness our Founder working on the Adams stage as we make way for the new Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts in 2016. Our 2015 season has something for every age and gender and is sure to provide our patrons with a huge palette of theatre!”

Tickets are on sale for the Festival’s 54th season, which will run from June 25 to October 31, 2015. For more information and tickets visitwww.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.

Fred Adams

Sharon Ott

Brad Carroll

Robynn Rodriguez

Josh Stavros

Molly Wetzel- Witch & Lady Macduff in the Tour Production of Macbeth

The tour is still out on the road and going strong since January.  We decided to check in with actor Molly Wetzel, who plays a Witch, Lady Macduff and many other parts in Macbeth. Molly has been with the Festival for the last two seasons. Last year, she appeared in The Greenshow, Into the Woods as Lucinda and Sense and Sensibility. She earned her BFA at Otterbein University and currently lives in New York City. This is her first role in Macbeth and her first time touring. She shared her thoughts about the play and the tour. 

How do you make this story relevant for the students?

I honestly think that the story is relevant to everyone. Everyone can relate to wanting something, and figuring out what lengths you need to go to get what you want. Macbeth just has to go to great lengths to become king (spoiler alert?). We watch Macbeth deal with the consequences of his actions, and ultimately have to decide for ourselves what he should have done, which of his actions we would consider “worth it”, and whether he truly got what he wanted. The show still makes me think when we run it, and I’m very familiar with the script!

What do you hope the students will take-away from your production?

I honestly think that the story is relevant to everyone. Everyone can relate to wanting something, and figuring out what lengths you need to go to get what you want. Macbeth just has to go to great lengths to become king (spoiler alert?). We watch Macbeth deal with the consequences of his actions, and ultimately have to decide for ourselves what he should have done, which of his actions we would consider “worth it”, and whether he truly got what he wanted. The show still makes me think when we run it, and I’m very familiar with the script!

What do you hope the students will take-away from your production?

I really hope the students will take away that good and bad isn’t always black and white- there are definite shades of grey. Macbeth does things that are bad for sure, but does it really make him a bad person? Is there such a thing as a bad person? I hope that our production starts a dialogue about that. 

What are some challenges that you might run into while on the road?

I’m sure there will be some mishaps during the show throughout the run, and it may be challenging to fix some of them with such a small group. During summers at USF if you rip a costume, you let your dresser know and they take the appropriate steps to fix it. On the road we only have the 10 of us and we’ll have to fix it ourselves! Luckily our costume team taught us how to take care of things like this before we left, but I imagine we’ll have those sorts of challenges. However, so far our group is really cohesive and can go with the flow- I’m sure that will help us a lot. 

The Tour is currently on the road, performing in 5 states until April. You can learn more at

http://www.bard.org/education/tour.html

#utahshakes #shakestour

Wetzel, Harris, Ivers (Witches)