The Centre Capital Campaign
Why should you be involved with the Festival's capital campaign? We thought you'd never ask!
Answers from Fred C. Adams,
Festival founder and executive director of the Festival Centre Project:
Q. Why is the Utah Shakespearean Festival having a capital campaign?
A. The Festival is undergoing a transformation that will bring an unprecedented level of artistic creativity and performance opportunities to the people of the greater southwestern region of the United States, while at the same time allowing them to enjoy a glimpse into the time of Shakespeare through architecture and environment. In response to larger crowds and the desire for more guest amenities, the Festival has developed a plan to meet the challenge and to use the best available technology to support the creative endeavors, which will allow for expanded educational and cultural performances and activities.
Q. What is the goal?
A. The goal of the Festival Capital Campaign is estimated at $32.1 million, plus an additional $10 million dedicated to an endowment fund for maintenance and operation.
Q. What is the timeline?
A. Fundraising will continue until the campaign goal has been reached:
- The first phase of construction will be the new Elizabethan theatre that will replace the current Adams Memorial Shakespearean Theatre. The cost of this new theatre will be approximately $17.1 million ($6 million has already been pledged).
- As the construction begins on this theatre, construction will begin as well on the retail side of the Centre, with funding from the Woodbury Development Corp. This will include restaurants, shops, gardens, fountains, and the clock tower.
Q. What will it accomplish?
A. It will allow the Utah Shakespearean Festival to perform year-round, while hosting other related activities such as a winter Dickens festival, a film festival, and a spring best-of-the-West play festival. It will create a destination site for hundreds of bus tours and thousands of tourists, enhancing the economic well being of the region by millions of dollars while allowing the Festival to flourish as one of America’s leading regional theatres.
The Festival will become a training ground for future playwrights, designers, designers, while expanding its educational offerings to teachers, students, scholars, and senior citizens. Once fully operational, the Centre will be one of the major cultural centers in the country.
Q. Where has the money you’ve raised so far come from?
A. Major gifts have been solicited and pledged by longtime supporters of the Festival. Individual donors, as well as corporate sponsors and foundations have come forward with donations and pledges in excess of $6 million, leaving us just over $10 million needed for our first phase.
Q. What will the campaign dollars raised actually fund?
A. The $32.1 million campaign goal will cover the construction of the new Elizabethan theatre, scenic studios, costume studio, clock tower, seminar grove, the intimate theatre, and overall landscaping, fountains, waterfall, and the equipment needed in these new spaces.
Q. What will the new Utah Shakespearean Festival Centre for the Performing Arts look like?
A. Just imagine yourself walking down charming cobblestoned alleys, past splashing fountains, looking into leaded glass windows at tempting pastries or one-of-a-kind merchandise. Or see yourself sitting in the shade of a towering oak tree while musicians entertain, or enjoying an old world meal seated in a rustic Elizaabethan inn. The Centre will include all the sounds, tastes, and smells of "Once upon a Time a Long Time Ago."
Click here to see the latest master plan for the Centre.
Q. Where is the money for other buildings such as the bookshop, pub, souvenir shop, tearoom, etc. coming from?
A. The Festival has been fortunate to team up with Woodbury Development of Salt Lake City and will work closely with that company on the style and charm that will be created as they build and lease the unique retail spaces. Woodbury Development will handle the recruiting and placement of the wonderful one-of-a-kind shops. The Festival plans to be a tenant in at least one of the shops.
Q. What kinds of gifts are you expecting to raise during the public campaign?
A. Gifts of cash; gifts of stock; pledges; planned gifts in the form of trusts, intended bequests, and other instruments; matching gifts; and gifts-in-kind are all accepted by the Festival. We are seeking gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations.
Q. How can I stay informed about the campaign?
A. Our website always has the latest information about the progress of the Campaign. You can be notified of this information as it becomes available by subscribing to our electronic newsletter. The Festival’s semi-annual newsletter, The Shakespeare Globe, is also a good source of information.
Q. Does my annual membership gift count toward the capital campaign?
A. No. A gift to the Festival capital campaign is a special, additional gift to the Festival. It does not renew your annual membership. Your annual membership is invaluable to the Festival because it supports the annual operation of the Utah Shakespearean Festival. We ask all campaign donors to please continue their annual support. A gift to the campaign is an exceptional, separate, and valued contribution to the Festival’s future.
Q. How can I support this campaign?
A. I thought you would never ask! Everyone's support is needed to help this campaign succeed. There are several ways you may participate.
For information, you can call me at
435-586-7884
or write to
Fred C. Adams
Utah Shakespearean Festival
351 West Center Street
Cedar City, UT 84720
or just
Click Here
to send me an e-mail.
Photo: John Bisom (left) as Johnny and Misty Cotton as Vienna in Johnny Guitar , 2006.
Photo by Karl Hugh. Copyright Utah Shakespearean Festival..
Copyright 2008 Utah Shakespearean Festival
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