News From the Festival
Misha Fristensky, Zany #1, in the Tour Production of The Taming of the Shrew
Fristensky as Zany #1
Michael (Misha) Fristensky plays multiple roles in The Taming of the Shrew: Tranio, Grumio and Zany #1. He was born in Switzerland, spent a majority of his childhood in Colorado and now calls New York City home. He studied Musical Theatre and Sociology at the University of Northern Colorado.
What are you looking forward to the most about this tour; why did you want to become involved? What do you hope to learn?
I am looking forward to the challenging aspect of having to perform a show multiple times and keeping the material fresh and making it seem as if we’re doing it for the first time in every town. Going on a tour has always been a goal of mine because of the chance to travel and really become immersed in a show. I am thrilled to be surrounded by such a talented cast and creative team because each day I learn something new about my craft that makes me that much more excited to be a part of this great art-form.
What do you hope to contribute or give to young audiences during this tour?
During the tour, I hope to spark a flame that will continue to grow and burn bright in the young audiences. Each of us has a special moment as to why we decided to pursue this career path, and I hope that we have the pleasure of making that moment happen for some of the audience members.
Why do you think live theatre is important?
With the technology and devices of today, I think people are losing sight of what makes being a human being so great. Our everyday interaction with one another and the memories and experiences we gain from those are second to none. I think it is great that we have the ability to share that with one another with the click of a button, but in doing so, we can forget how important it is to look at someone in their eyes, listen, and genuinely respond.
Live theatre gives us that hour and half where we ask people to forget about all the distractions of the day, and get lost in a story that has the ability to reconnect us to that sensation of being able to feel something as a result from live human interaction. I believe it’s magical and has the possibility to change lives.
The tour departs in late January, visiting three states and forty+ venues. You can learn more about the tour at
Meet the 2014 Directors
Brian Vaughn
Joseph Hanreddy
David Ivers
JR Sullivan
A can’t-miss 2014 season, which runs from June 23 to October 18, is coming together at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Paving the way to artistic success is a talented lineup of highly experienced directors who are hard at work on this year’s plays.
Laura Gordon is returning to the Festival to direct this summer’s production of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Gordon directed last season’s Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Winter’s Tale in 2011.Measure for Measure is a seldom-produced but daring dark comedy, where Shakespeare tests integrity and decency to the limit. Gordon commented about the show saying, “what I find interesting about the play are the psychological journeys of the characters and the high stake dilemmas that many of the characters are facing. I want to find a way to bring the 17th century to the Utah audience in 2014, rather than having the audience travel back in time to meet the play.”
Artistic Director Brian Vaughn will direct the third play in the Festival’s continuing History Cycle, Henry IV Part One. Last year Vaughn had the honor of directing the regional premiere of Peter and the Starcatcher at the Festival, which received rave reviews. He was also a guest director for the Orlando Shakespeare Festival in 2013. This will be Vaughn’s first time directing in the Adams Shakespearean Theatre, but after acting on the Adams’ stage for over twenty years, Vaughn is very familiar with the nuances of that space. Henry IV Part One is one of Vaughn’s favorite works by Shakespeare, and he’s very excited to explore this historical family drama.
After directing last summer’s musical comedy,Anything Goes, Brad Carroll is back at the Festival with this year’s The Comedy of Errors. Carroll has been involved with numerous productions at the Festival including*, Les Misérables, Johnny Guitar, HMS Pinafore*,Spitfire Grill. Also, in collaboration with Peter Sham, Carroll created and composed Lend me a Tenor: The Musical and *Christmas Carol: On the Air.*It’s double the laughter and twice the fun in Shakespeare’s hysterical Comedy of Errors. There’s not one, but two sets of twins and there will certainly be shenanigans swirling around them.
The world premiere of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility will be directed by co-adaptor, Joseph Hanreddy. Hanreddy along with J.R. Sullivan were commissioned over two years ago to write this script for the Festival and after many staged readings and rewrites, it’s ready to make its debut on the Randall L. Jones stage. Hanreddy and Sullivan also successfully adapted Austen’s *Pride and Prejudice,*which was seen at the Festival in 2010. Sense and Sensibility is full of repressed passion and soaring emotions. It tells the touching and comic story of the Dashwood sisters who are both looking for true love, but in very different ways.
Jeremy Mann returns to the Randall L. Jones to direct Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairytale, *Into the Woods.*Mann has directed and conducted several classic musicals at the Festival, including The Music Man, Man of La Mancha, and The Secret Garden. Mann thinks “Into the Woods has the potential to resonate powerfully for audiences, both young and old, because ultimately it’s about the challenge of being a human, and how to face individual and communal problems on this planet.”
Artistic Director David Ivers will direct Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, Twelfth Night,which plays in the Randall L. Jones Theatre from June until October. Last season at the Festival, Ivers directed a brilliant production of Twelve Angry Men. For two years in a row, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival has invited Ivers to be a guest director at their prestigious company. Ivers is very excited “that Twelfth Night will have such a long run in the Randall, allowing Shakespeare to be exposed to our loyal guests and new students across many regions.” It’sall hilarious confusion and rollicking laughs in this, one of Shakespeare’s most sparkling gems.
New to the Festival will be Christopher Liam Moore who is directing Boeing Boeing. Moore has worked at many other regional theatres includingOregon Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Rep, South Coast Rep, Guthrie Theatre, and Arena Stage.Boeing Boeing features a playboy bachelor who is living the life, juggling the arrivals and departures of three gorgeous flight attendants. But his supersonic lifestyle goes into a tailspin when flight schedules change and all three women arrive at his apartment on the same evening. It is a bumpy, but hilarious ride in this classic farce, full of flirtatious hijinks, slamming doors, and utter confusion.
Co-adaptor of Sense and Sensibility, J.R. Sullivan will direct playwright Steven Dietz’sSherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. Sullivan has directed many productions at the Festival some of which include *Stones in His Pockets, Glass Menagerie, Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear,andThe Importance of Being Earnest.*Murder is elementary in this a mystery adventure about the world’s most popular detective. “The game is afoot, Watson—and it is a dangerous one!”
Last, but certainly not least, this year’sGreenshow will be co-directed with Festival Founder Fred Adams and Associate Education Director Josh Stavros. Adams and Stavros have worked on many Festival projects. Most recently, in 2011, Adams directed and Stavros was the assistant director for A Midsummer’s Night Dream, which was broadcast live on BYUtv and won a Regional Emmy for Best Special Event Coverage Live.
Adams and Stavros are excited to direct The Greenshow because it’s a perfect way to spend forty minutes before that evening’s show. The free pre-show entertainment features spirited song and dance. Add Elizabethan sweets, and you’ll have a fun-filled frolic to prepare you for the main stage performance that follows.
Tickets are on sale for the Festival’s 53rd season, which will run from June 23 to October 18, 2014. The eight-play season includes Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, Henry IV Part One,andTwelfth Night. The season will also include the world premiere adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility written by Joseph Hanreddy and J. R. Sullivan, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Steven Dietz’sadaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure,andBoeing-Boeing by Marc Camoletti.
For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
Laura Gordon
Brad Carroll
Jeremy Mann
Christopher Liam Moore
Fred Adams
Josh Stavros
Kaitlin Mills as Bianca in the Tour Production of The Taming of the Shrew
Mills as Bianca
Kaitlin Mills, who we saw last summer in Anything Goes, returns to the Festival as Bianca in the Shakespeare-in-the-School’s production of The Taming of the Shrew. She grew up in Salt Lake City and has her BFA in Classical Acting from Southern Utah University.
What are you looking forward to the most about this tour; why did you want to become involved? What do you hope to learn?
I first saw the tour when I was in high school. It was also a production of The Taming of the Shrew and it was the first time I realized that acting was something you can do professionally. Shrew is also my favorite of Shakespeare’s comedies, and I am really looking forward to working with this great cast on my favorite show. I’m sure I will learn many things as we begin touring, but waking up early in the morning may be the hardest.
What do you hope to contribute or give to young audiences during this tour?
I hope to be able to inspire a love of live theatre and of the arts in young, new audiences. The tour made such an impact on my young life, and I hope to be able to pay that forward in some small way.
What are some of your favorite hobbies?
I love to draw, paint, and crochet in my spare time. I find it relaxing.
Why do you think live theatre is important?
Live theatre is the only place where the audience can have a real connection with the actors and what is happening on stage. In movies and television you can get the story, and even the emotional impact of the story across, but you don’t get to connect person to person. Live theatre allows that connection. The audience is just as vital to the performance as the people on stage and behind the scenes.
The tour will be on the road from late January through mid-April, visiting three states and forty+ venues. You can learn more athttp://www.bard.org/education/tour.html
Hill (Kate) & Mills (Bianca)
First Round of Casting for 2014
The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced the casting of the first nine actors for the 2014 season. All are familiar faces, having appeared at the Festival in the past. Actors slated to appear thus far are Henry Woronicz, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, Sara J. Griffin, Steve Wojtas, Roderick Peeples, Melinda Pfundstein, Quinn Mattfeld, Grant Goodman, and Brian Vaughn. A complete casting list will be available soon at www.bard.org.
Henry Woroniczis appearing as the rogue knight, Sir John Falstaff, in Henry IV Part One. He will also be seen as Escalus in Measure for Measure.
Last year, Woronicz played the monumental role of Prospero in The Tempest. He has also directed Titus Andronicus, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, and Coriolanus. As a Festival actor he’s portrayed Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, Duke in Meaure for Measure and title roles in Henry V, Richard III, and Macbeth.
Aaron Galligan-Stierle will take on one of the comical twin servants in The Comedy of Errors, Dromio of Syracuse. He will also be Feste in Twelfth Night.
At the Festival last season, Galligan-Stierle played Smee in Peter and the Starcatcher and Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in Anything Goes. Previous seasons he has performed in The Merchant of Venice, The 39 Steps, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Room Serviceand A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Sara J. Griffin will return to the Festival to play Lucy Steele in the world premiere adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. She will also play the fun and flirty Gloria in Boeing Boeing and will be in Twelfth Night.
Griffin was last seen at the Festival in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Les Misérables in 2012. Other Festival productions include Richard III, The Glass Menagerie, Pride and Prejudice and Much Ado about Nothing.
Steve Wojtas is appearing this year as the fierce, quick-tempered Hotspur in Henry IV, Part One and the hypocritical Angelo in Measure for Measure. He will also be in The Comedy of Errors.
Wotjas portrayed Philip the Bastard in King John and Juror #5 in Twelve Angry Men last season. In 2012, he played Mortimer in Mary Stuart, Demetrius in Titus Andronicus and Nym in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Roderick Peeples will play Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and Egeon in The Comedy of Errors and will appear in Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure.
Past roles at the Festival include Juror #10 in Twelve Angry Men, Trinculo in The Tempest, and Hubert in King John in 2013; Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Argante in Scapin, and Paulet in Mary Stuart in 2012; Friar Lawence in Romeo and Juliet, The Duke of Buckingham in Richard III, and Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2011; and Fluellen in Henry V and Duke Senior in As You Like It in 2009.
Melinda Pfundstein**,** who has appeared in numerous roles at the Festival, will perform this year as Olivia in Twelfth Night and Bakers Wife in Into the Woods and will also appear in Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure.
Many Festival-goers will remember Pfundstein for her acclaimed portrayals last year of Rosaline in Love’s Labour’s Lost and Constance in King John. She has also appeared in such roles as Fantine in *Les Misérables,*Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, Margot Wendice in Dial M for Murder, Miss Jane Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, Biddy in Great Expectations, Claire Holmes in The Secret Garden, Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, Roxane in Cyrano de Bergerac, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Martha Jefferson in 1776, Gloria Thorpe in Damn Yankees, and many others.
Quinn Mattfeld will bring Edward Ferrars to life in Sense and Sensibility. He will also appear as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night and will be in Boeing Boeing.
Last year, Mattfeld played Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher and King of Navarre in Love’s Labour’s Lost. In 2011 he played Garry Lejeune in Noises Off!, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, and Young Shepherd in The Winter’s Tale. In 2010 he was Malcolm in Macbeth, Mr. Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, Quinn inThe Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged); and in 2009 he was Orlando in As You Like It, Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors, and Duke of Gloucester in Henry V.
After several years away, Grant Goodman returns to the Festival to play the love-struck Orsino in Twelfth Night and Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility.
Goodman was last at the Festival in 2010 when he appeared as Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice and in the title role in Macbeth. In 2008 he appeared as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew and Le Bret in Cyrano de Bergerac.
Brian Vaughn, a long-time actor at the Festival and now artistic director, will appear as the Baker in Into the Woods.
In the previous twenty years he has played over forty roles, including title roles in Hamlet, Henry V, Cyrano de Bergerac; as well as Javert, Les Misérables; Harold Hill, *The Music Man;*Leontes, The Winter’s Tale; Benedick,Much Ado about Nothing; Prince Hal, Hotspur, Henry IV Part One; Richard Hannay, The 39 Steps; and Charlie, Stones in his Pockets. He has also directed Festival productions of Peter and the Starcatcher, Dial M for Murder, Greater Tuna, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare in the Schools).
Tickets are on sale for the Festival’s 53rd season, which will run from June 23 to October 18, 2014. The eight-play season includes Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, Henry IV Part One, and Twelfth Night. The season will also include the world premiere adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility written by Joseph Hanreddy and J. R. Sullivan, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Steven Dietz’s adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, and Boeing-Boeing by Marc Camoletti. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
Malloree Hill, Katherine in the Tour Production of The Taming of the Shrew
Littman (Petruchio) & Hill (Kate)
Malloree Hill, who plays Kate in this production, grew up in Texas, graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a BFA in Theatre Arts – Acting and currently has a home base in New York City. This is her first appearance with the Festival.
Have you played this role before? If so, where?
I have not played Katherine before but it has long been a role that I have dreamed of playing.
Where else have you worked – other theatres?
This past summer (2013), after I graduated, I was in a production of Escanaba In Da Moonlight with The Little Theatre of the Rockies in Greeley, Colorado. Since that show, I have done background/extra work for some independent films in New York, and then I was blessed with the opportunity to come to Cedar City for the USF Shakespeare-in-the-Schools tour.
Have you worked with others in the company before?
Yes, several of them in fact. There are four of us who all graduated from The University of Northern Colorado in May of 2013. In addition to that, Shelly Gaza, who is our director, was one of our professors while in school. We’ve joked several times that we are on a sort of ‘reunion tour’ here.
How will you make your role and Shrew relevant for today’s students?
I have been very determined to make Katherine as human as possible. I’ve often seen her played so harshly that you have no reason to care about her or what she’s going through… she just ends up being this horribly bitter woman that lashes out for no reason. I didn’t want her to be just another shrew who gets tamed by a man. I wanted her to be a woman who experiences hurt, loss, frustration, anger, and love. I wanted students and adults to relate to her, to understand her, and to ultimately cheer her on. She may not be the best at channeling or expressing her emotions, but she is more than a shrew. If I can accomplish that, if I can get people to see Katherine the person, than I think she will be relatable and relevant to every audience.
Why do you think live theatre is important?
Theatre has always been a place where people gather to see humanity in all of its forms… the good, bad, ugly, and funny. In my opinion, theatre is where we discuss the subjects that no one wants to talk about, where we show all the sides of a given story, where we open up the doors society has closed, where we allow people to escape their lives for a couple of hours, where we make a child smile and believe in the power of their dreams.
The tour will be on the road from the end of January through mid-April, stopping in forty+ venues in three states. You can learn more at
http://www.bard.org/education/tour.html
Littman & Hill
Groundbreaking scheduled for March 27
The cultural landscape of southern Utah will soon take a major step forward with a groundbreaking ceremony that signals the beginning of construction on a new performing and visual arts complex. Staci Carson, associate vice president of institutional advancement at Southern Utah University, recently announced the groundbreaking for the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts scheduled for March 27 at 3 p.m. on the grounds of the Randall L. Jones Theatre.
The groundbreaking ceremony is expected to draw state representatives, civic leaders, trustees, major donors, board members, officers and executives from Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA). In addition, the event features SUU presidents past and present, performing and visual artists, and a special presentation that celebrates this unique center for the arts.
“This $30 million project, the largest in our university’s history, will help us increase the cultural service that has become a hallmark of Southern Utah University,” said SUU President Scott Wyatt. “We couldn’t be more grateful to all of the friends of the University and the Festival who have helped make this incredible project possible.”
The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts is expected to begin rising on the SUU campus summer 2014. This is in large measure thanks to the generosity of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation and the late Mrs. Sorenson, a visionary and singular friend of education and arts education for children in particular. The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts will serve as the home to the new Shakespeare Theatre and a new studio theatre for the Utah Shakespeare Festival, an artistic/production building for the Festival, and the Southern Utah Museum of Art. The Center also features sculpture gardens and other outdoor features on the grounds.
Save the date for what promises to be a milestone in the rich cultural heritage of southern Utah.
Tom Littman as Petruchio in the Tour's production of The Taming of the Shrew
Tom Littman grew up in Colorado, attended University of Northern Colorado (degree in Theatre) and has spent the last four years in New York. He is making his Festival debut as Petruchio in our Tour production.
Have you played this role before? If so, where?
I have been a fan of this show and this character for a long time and have worked scenes from the show before, but this is my first opportunity to play Petruchio in a fully realized production.
Where else have you worked?
I have been fortunate enough to work in many different states doing what I love. I have worked in New York City with various companies, the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Cape Fear Regional Theatre in North Carolina. And I’m proud to make my Utah debut with USF.
Why do you think live theatre is important?
Live theatre is a great way to get a room full of rational adults to utilize their imaginations. Watching a story unfold before your eyes with real life human beings can be magical, and I believe we need that now more than ever.
Costume design Leinicke
How will you make your role and Shrew relevant for today’s students?
Shakespeare was ahead of his time in so many ways. He understood people and psychology pre Freud and Jung. Being able to bring these characters that were written hundreds of years ago to life and showcase their flaws gives students an opportunity to identify with them and feel a connection to their humanity that can be missed when you are only assigned to read them in a classroom. It gives their problems a context and a voice that can help answer some tough questions. We have all experienced these problems in varying degrees in our own lives and seeing it on stage can help us better understand them.
What else would you like readers to know about you?
Shakespeare and education for the public is my personal passion. So much so that I started a company of my own in New York called Tale Told Productions, which specializes in bringing classical theatre to the public for free. I hope to take what I learn at such a highly respected and established theatre like USF and apply it to my own group. Also I’m very fond of breakfast burritos and will graciously accept any I’m given while on the road.
You can learn more about the Tour at
Tony Carter as Lucentio in the Tour production of The Taming of the Shrew
Tony Carter grew up in Nevada and just graduated from Southern Utah University with a BFA in Musical Theatre.
What are you looking forward to the most about this tour; why did you want to become involved? What do you hope to learn?
I love Shakespeare, and have wanted to be in the tour ever since I first saw it in 2011. I think young audiences are very exciting and that this kind of innovative production is something that they can really get into.
Have you ever done a similar tour like this before? Tell us about it.
I was a part of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts Outreach Tour two years ago. It was aimed at a younger audience -touring to elementary schools in the central coast of California- but the energy and talent was much the same. There’s something fresh and exciting about putting up your set in a different space each day; it keeps a show new even after so many performances.
What do you hope to contribute or give to young audiences during this tour?
Live theatre is something many young people don’t get to experience. It’s one of the most thrilling forms of entertainment, and I’m excited to bring that to our audiences.
What are some of your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy rock climbing, reading, hiking, and playing games.
Why do you think live theatre is important?
It’s living, breathing art that the audience gets to be a part of, and no two performances will ever be the same. Your dvd player, your laptop, and your movie screen are entirely unaffected by their audience, but we respond to the people in the room with us. We run out and interact with our audience, and that’s something foreign to many of us in the digital-age. Remember, theatre was the original 3-D!
You can learn more about the Tour at
http://www.bard.org/education/tour.html
The Tour Hits the Road
A Scene from The Taming of the Shrew
From January to April, the Utah Shakespeare Festival will take its Shakespeare-in-the-Schools touring production of The Taming of the Shrew to more than 25,000 students in three western states. The tour will spend 13 weeks on the road visiting schools, community centers, and correctional facilities across Utah, Nevada, and Arizona with over 65 performances for 150 schools.
In its 20th year, this educational outreach program features a 75-minute version of Shakespeare’s outrageous comedy,The Taming of the Shrew*,*including complete costumes, sets, and theatrical lighting. Also included is a fifteen-minute post-show discussion with the actors with optional workshops in Stage Combat, Performing Shakespeare’s Text, and Developing Character through Improvisation.
Littman (Petruchio), Hill (Kate), The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrewtakes on a gypsy carnival twist in this fast paced, slapstick comedy. The story ignites the fire for a classic battle-of-the-sexes challenge between two stubborn and shrewish individuals. The sweet Bianca wishes to marry, but Kate, her older unruly sister, must marry first. Rising to the challenge is fortune-seeking Petruchio, but can he match Kate wit for wit? The couple bickers and fights with each other right up to the play’s surprising conclusion.
“Schools and communities are going to love this highly energetic production,” said Education Director Michael Bahr. “It is accessible, relevant and dynamic! A perfect vehicle for introducing audiences to this compelling story.”
Professionals from all over the country will perform in this production of The Taming of the Shrew. This ten-person group serves as both the acting company and the support crew with seven actors, a company manager, a stage manager, and a technical director.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s production of The Taming of the Shrew is part of Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Taming of the Shrew is funded in part by the Utah State Office of Education, UBS Bank, Mountain America Credit Union, and Mountain West Small Business Finance.
For a complete tour schedule visit:
http://www.bard.org/education/tour.html.
Photos by Karl Hugh. Copyright Utah Shakespeare Festival 2014
Christina Leinicke and Ben Hohman – Designers for The Tour
Rehearsals are in full swing for the Educational Tour production of The Taming of the Shrew. Designing for a tour is a challenge. It has to appeal to school age audiences, many of whom have never seen a live theatre production. Venues vary in size from a theatre to a gymnasium to a cafeteria. The costumes and set has to withstand lots of wear and tear.
Christina Leinicke is the costume designer and Ben Hohman designed the set, and we learned how they are making this work.
First Christina. This is her second year designing for the tour. She did her undergrad in Theatrical Design and Production at Illinois State University and she has a MFA in Costume Design & Production from the University of Alabama. In addition to her work at the Festival, she has worked at Illinois Shakespeare Festival and toured with Lord of the Dance.
When you’re designing for a show, where do you start?
First, the director sends me thoughts. I got a list of things Shelly had been thinking about and a few research images. Then I went and created a research response to that initial conversation. “Why this show, what we like about the show, what we don’t like about the show, what we saw and thought and felt while we read the show… that initial conversation turned into a research response with lots of visual images. The result is a combination of Victorian circus, gypsy carnival and commedia dell’arte – very colorful and active.
Shelly Gaza (the director) told us that “The Zanies” are playing many roles. How will the costumes help differentiate?
Everybody has a base costume and then from there we add and subtract pieces to create an evolution of character, to indicate a different character and a different time. It can be as simple as an apron and neckerchief for the servants or it can be as complex as a whole change of clothes for the Petruchio wedding.
What considerations do you include for a tour?
The performers are changing and maintaining the costumes themselves, so it has to wear well with minimum maintenance. Before they go on tour, the actors have a wardrobe workshop. They will learn some basic hand sewing, machine sewing, and emergency quick repairs.
What considerations do you include for a tour?
The performers are changing and maintaining the costumes themselves, so it has to wear well with minimum maintenance. Before they go on tour, the actors have a wardrobe workshop. They will learn some basic hand sewing, machine sewing, and emergency quick repairs.
Ben Hohman, Director of Props and Displays, has been with the Festival for 21 years. This is the 13th tour for which he has designed the sets. He has a BFA from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
Tell us about the set…
For the backdrop, we started with the idea of gypsy curtains. It was a great idea for a backdrop but all gypsy curtains are really colorful. So we decided, knowing what Christina was doing with costumes, we would create the look with all neutrals and texture. We sewed them seam forward so that breaks them up as well so the lights can create shadows.
For this show, it’s a lot of locations. Shelly wanted some pieces she can move around to show the different locations. She also liked the idea that they’re a traveling troupe; we’ll see them putting their costumes on and off, so some trunks make sense in this world. We used trunks and ladders and painted them bright colors. That gives you levels – you can stand on the trunks or ladders.
Tell us about the set…
For the backdrop, we started with the idea of gypsy curtains. It was a great idea for a backdrop but all gypsy curtains are really colorful. So we decided, knowing what Christina was doing with costumes, we would create the look with all neutrals and texture. We sewed them seam forward so that breaks them up as well so the lights can create shadows.
For this show, it’s a lot of locations. Shelly wanted some pieces she can move around to show the different locations. She also liked the idea that they’re a traveling troupe; we’ll see them putting their costumes on and off, so some trunks make sense in this world. We used trunks and ladders and painted them bright colors. That gives you levels – you can stand on the trunks or ladders.
It’s a very simple set. There’s so much going on with the costumes and the characters that we didn’t want the set to get in the way. The director wants the audience to be engaged, watching the character transformations: open a trunk, grab a cloak, put on the costume, change their physical nature so we engage the audience’s imagination.
Any other thoughts about this show?
This is one of those fun shows where you don’t need to know anything about it. You can come in and pick up the story very easily. It’s a great introduction for young kids. They’re all going thru this angsty love thing in their world. I think Shelly because of her history with the Festival, having done the tour and now being an educator herself gets the idea of the show, how to pass that info onto the audience.
The Tour, beginning late January and ending in mid-April, will visit three states and over thirty cities. In future guest blogs, you’ll meet the cast. You can learn more about the Tour at