Q&A with Director Britannia Howe on The Greenshow
Britannia Howe returned to the Utah Shakespeare Festival this season to write and direct her fifth Greenshow season. With three different nights (Royals, Folk Festival, and Commedia) audiences can experience the wide range of her excellent work. Howe’s other previous work at the Festival includes directing Cymbeline in 2021 and the touring productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Every Brilliant Thing.
In addition to the Festival, Howe has worked with Southern Utah University, Utah Symphony, Illinois State University, Utah State University, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Women of Will, Coalescence Theatre Company, and Nomad Theatre Company. She also won the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Directing Fellowship in 2011.
Howe earned an MFA in Directing from Illinois State University, as well as a BFA in Classical Acting/Theatre Education from Southern Utah University. Her teaching credits include Illinois State University and Southern Utah University, as well as the Utah Shakespeare Festival Playmakers and Actor Training.
The Festival caught up with her to ask her about her experience with this season’s Greenshow.
The Festival: Why were you excited to write and direct again this season?
Howe: I love the spirit of The Greenshow. It invites audiences into our space to play, laugh, and sing. The Greenshows are necessary for our world-building.
The Festival: What special moments are you most excited about in The Greenshows?
Howe: They’re chock-full of moments where we invite the audience to play with us. In previews and early performances, I was very excited to see how these moments would work out between actor and audience. I’m surprised by just how many people stand––old and young––to perform the actions for “Bog Down in the Valley-O.”
The Festival: All The Greenshow performers this season are either SUU students or alumni. Was this intentional when casting?
Howe: It was not intentional, but I’m so happy with this dynamite group.
The Festival: Are there any special “Easter Eggs” you’ve implemented into the shows?
Howe: Folk Festival has Shakespeare “Easter eggs” and puns about our current season. My favorite pun is “The Shaming of the Two” because it speaks to complications that the play The Taming of the Shrew has in our contemporary day. There is also a nod to Silent Sky because we tell the story of Ursa Major and ask audiences to be a part of the constellation by holding stars. Also, in Folk Festival we reference the two giant sycamore trees that have been on the grounds for more than 70 years.
The Festival: What challenges came with preparing to direct The Greenshows?
Howe: The challenge this year was to create new content. I’ve created 14 Greenshows for the Festival, so I am always looking for new tales and curating new song lists, while still keeping the nostalgia of the Festival Greenshow. The Greenshows this year have the staples of folk stories, partner dances, audience participation, lively songs, and magic.
The Festival: How are the shows similar/different to The Greenshows from previous years? What is your approach when deciding on the themes for them?
Howe: There have been many different themes in past Greenshows, like Strawberry Nights and Fairy Nights. When I was growing up I remember themes of countries, like Scotland. Scottish Night was always my favorite Greenshow because of the music and the Highland Games.
When I was asked in 2018 to write and direct, I needed a box to create in, so I looked to the settings found in the Engelstad play selection as a starting place. For example, the first year I created The Greenshow, Merry Wives of Windsor was being produced; but it was set in the early 1900s. I was curious about the music of America during that time so I built an Americana Greenshow with tap dancing, classic Americana tunes, and a silent film skit.
English night is a popular theme, and I have wanted to have Queen Elizabeth appear on The Greenshow stage for years. This year I thought it was the right opportunity because of the connection to Henry VIII, as she was his and Anne Boleyn’s daughter.
The Festival: Tell us about your background with the Festival.
Howe: I grew up attending Greenshows in the courtyard of the Adams Theatre. I remember peering over the back wall of the Adams to see the Shakespeare shows when I didn’t have a ticket, or watching through the gate. You can’t do that anymore. In 2017, I was hired to direct the touring production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; that was my first time directing for the Festival. In 2018 I wrote and directed my first Greenshow. In 2021, I directed Cymbeline in the Anes.
The Festival: How long have you been directing? What draws you to be a director?
Howe: I’ve been directing for the past 15 years. I am drawn to directing because of the analysis and relationships it requires. The analysis isn’t just inside these stories but also making connections between the story and our present-day points of view. The relationship between actor and audience matters to me. One of my favorite relationships is between the director and the designers; it’s electric to be in a design meeting building connections with a team to highlight themes and motifs.
The Festival: What is the purpose of The Greenshow? What do you want the audience to take away from it?
Howe: The Greenshow is a touchstone. The goal is to bring audiences to the Festival and gift them a friendly, fun, theatrical experience. We encourage littles and the mature to dance, sing, and play with us. When writing the show I try to build a script that feels new and also nostalgic by calling back to the history of the Festival and Cedar City.
The Greenshow is a perfect way for patrons of all ages to enjoy the Festival Experience, 7:10 pm, Monday through Saturday, now through September 7. Visit bard.org/plays/greenshow for more information.
