News From the Festival
Is This Noble Mind O’erthrown?
Danforth Comins as Hamlet at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2012.
By Kathryn Neves
There’s a reason Hamlet has been so popular throughout the last four centuries. There’s a reason it has been performed countless times, a reason it’s been studied and analyzed so much, and a reason we peruse its pages again and again. Because no matter how many times we hear those words, there’s always more. Hamlet is fascinating and complex enough that we’ll probably never get to the bottom of it. Sometimes we find something new in these pages— and sometimes we return to old questions and try to find new answers.
One of the questions that audiences have been asking themselves since the play premiered in 1609 is about the Prince of Denmark himself. Thousands of scholars have answered the question, and thousands of others have disagreed. There’s a lot of evidence for both sides of the debate, and in my opinion it’s one of the most intriguing questions in all of Shakespeare’s canon. It’s a simple question, really, without a simple answer: Is Hamlet playacting, or is he actually insane?
It would be easy to say that Hamlet is acting mad on purpose throughout the play. After all, he says so in Act 1 Scene 5 after seeing his father’s ghost for the first time: “I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (lines 191–92). And it’s hard to call him insane for seeing the ghost in the first place, since he is not the only one to see the apparition. Barnardo, Marcellus, and Horatio all see the ghost in the very first scene of the play. It seems, then, that if Hamlet is mad, he must be in some sort of shared delusion with Horatio and the others.
Some people argue that Hamlet may have started out sane, but through the very act of pretending to be insane, became insane himself. It does seem possible; after all, Hamlet’s behavior is increasingly erratic as the play goes on, as though something definitely is wrong with him. At the beginning, he ponders and worries, but as the play moves forward he does some very irrational things; he kills Polonius without thought or remorse and he recklessly sends his own childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to their deaths. It would be hard to argue that those are the actions of a sane man.
Even so, there’s still a lot of evidence to say that it’s all playacting—or at least, most of it is. Hamlet acts strange, even absurd; for instance, in Act 2 Scene 2 he speaks to Polonius as though unaware of who he is, and what he says is practically all nonsense, even while he spends all his time hurling insults and slander. He speaks of graves, satirical rogues, and fishmongers until Polonius is positive that Hamlet is far gone. But if you read elsewhere in the play, you can see that when Hamlet is alone, he is completely lucid. His soliloquies are full of keen and intelligent observations that would be improbable coming from the mouth of an insane person. While Ophelia believes that his “noble mind is here o’erthrown,” (3.1.163) Hamlet’s mind is clearly just as sharp as anyone else’s.
Now, that’s not to say that Hamlet is always entirely sane. There are moments in the play— powerful moments— that show Hamlet enraged and possibly insane. One example is his killing of Polonius: just before this, Hamlet is in the middle of an emotional and angry confrontation with his mother, and he doesn’t seem to be in his right mind when he kills the hidden man. He does it without pausing to think, something that is very different from previous moments with him. Usually Hamlet takes (arguably) too long to make decisions because he thinks about them too much; here, though, he stabs the old man without any hesitation. Not only that, but he doesn’t seem to feel any remorse about it. This could easily be an indication that Hamlet’s insanity might not be entirely faked.
Then, of course, there’s the moment where Hamlet, upon learning of Ophelia’s death, picks a fight with her brother Laertes and says “Be buried quick with her, and so will I. And if thou prate of mountains, let them throw millions of acres on us” (5.1.296–98). Some people might consider it a stretch to call this moment “insanity,” but it’s definitely not the words of a healthy, balanced man.
So is Hamlet mad, or is he only acting? We may never know. Each actor portrays it differently— so sometimes he is, and sometimes he isn’t. Whatever Shakespeare intended, it’s definitely kept us all talking about it for centuries. Whether or not Hamlet is mad, we can safely say one thing: he definitely makes for a great show.
Stop the Presses! Playmakers to Perform Newsies
CEDAR CITY, Utah — Stop the presses! The Utah Shakespeare Festival Playmakers performing company is making headlines by presenting the high-energy musical Newsies! Public performances are on March 15 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre.
Inspired by the true story of the 1899 New York City newsboy strike, Newsies! The Musical is a rousing tale of a courageous group of newsboys who become unlikely heroes when they team up to fight an unscrupulous newspaper tycoon. Tickets are available for $5 at bard.org/playmakers or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.
“This is a fun, exciting, high-energy (and inspiring) musical,” said Michael Bahr, Festival education director. “It is a perfect vehicle for our Playmakers program, which trains young actors and then gives them a chance to perform on the Festival stages.”
The Playmakers program provides young actors a chance to rehearse, learn, and then perform. The program trains youth in theatre fundamentals, including how to sing and dance with a live piano, rehearsal and performance etiquette, and how to work, share, give, and play with others.
Britannia Howe is directing and teaching this program. She created a similar program for young performers in Ashland, Oregon, and is thrilled to provide this training for young artists here in Cedar City.
“It’s thrilling to know that the youth of Cedar City will be telling a story about adolescents their very age who lived one hundred years ago,” she said. “Newsies has many themes, but my favorite is that children do, indeed, have power. It’s for that reason I’m excited that Playmakers is producing this delightful play.”
For more information, call the Ticket Office at 800-PLAYTIX or visit the webpage at www.bard.org/playmakers.
In Memoriam: Ace G. Pilkington
Ace G. Pilkington
Ace G. Pilkington, teacher, playwright, prolific writer, and literary seminar director at the Utah Shakespeare Festival for over thirty years, passed away on February 20, 2019.
Ace was a fixture in the Seminar Grove as he led interesting and lively discussions of the Festival’s plays. He was admired and loved by many who made it a priority to be at the seminars early in the morning. “The conversational moments that Ace shared with patrons in the Seminar Grove were an important part for the Festival patrons’ experience,” said Michael Bahr, education director. “He cultivated stimulating conversation and was the catalyst for epiphanies and discovery and the impetus for the seminars we have today.”
“How exciting the Festival Literary Seminars became when Ace joined forces with Jerry Crawford, Nancy Melich, and other seminar directors,” said Fred C. Adams, Festival founder. “Ace brought his vast knowledge of the Bard to thousands of Festival playgoers, and we will all miss him.”
Ace was born on December 20, 1951, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Acel Amos and RoseMae Jensen Pilkington, but he spent his childhood in Hyrum, Utah. He earned his MA in modern drama from Utah State University, his MLitt in English Renaissance drama from Middlebury College, and his DPhil in Shakespeare, history, and film at Oxford University. At his passing he was a professor of English and history at Dixie State University.
He has published over 100 poems, articles, and short stories in over sixty publications in five countries, including Science and Futurism: Their Terms and Ideas (2017); Our Lady Guenevere: A Play (2017); The Fantastic Made Visible (co-editor, 2015); Screening Shakespeare from Richard II to Henry V (1991). He was also a regular contributor to Midsummer Magazine and the Festival’s Insights study guides.
Ace and his wife, Olga, were married on September 11, 2003, and together they wrote the filmography for Michael Flachmann’s 2007 Shakespeare from Page to Stage, edited and translated the stories in Fairy Tales of the Russians and Other Slavs, and lectured together on International Shakespeare and The End of the Soviet Union and the Rise of the New Russia.
He was an active member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and received numerous awards for his essays and poetry, including the Readers’ Choice Award for best poem of the year (“The Robots’ Farewell to the Master”) in Asimov’s Science Fiction, 1992.
“I am very saddened by the passing of Ace. He was such a devoted advocate of the Festival, and his passion for Shakespeare was infectious,” concluded Brian Vaughn, artistic director. “He was a stalwart in the grove, and the impact he made on our audiences over the years is immeasurable.”
So, with heavy hearts we bid farewell and many thanks to our old friend. We will miss him in the Grove.
Updated February 25, 2019
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m., February 28 at the Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 South Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah. It will be followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Gardner Center at Dixie State University. Services are under the direction of McMillan Mortuary.
The Amazing Story of an Amazing Dreamcoat
Joseph Heninger-Potter (left) as Joseph, René Thornton Jr. as Reuben, and Matt Bomer as Isaacher in the Festival’s 1998 production.
By Kathryn Neves
In the decades since it was written, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has quickly become a classic. Kids everywhere sing along to “Any Dream Will Do” while their parents rock out to the classic Elvis sound of “Song of the King.” There are filmed versions, community theatre productions, high school showcases, and numerous professional productions of the musical Bible story. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone—especially in Utah and Nevada—who hasn’t seen the show, or at least come in contact with it in some way. But even with all this mania over the musical, most people don’t know the fascinating story of how it came to be.
This show was written, as many shows are, by a musical duo: Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the music, and Tim Rice, who wrote the music. Their partnership was eventually very successful, landing them in the ranks of such teams as Gilbert and Sullivan and Rodgers and Hammerstein. They first began working together, even before Joseph, at a very young age; Webber was seventeen, and Rice was twenty when they wrote their first musical together. Only a few short years later, in 1968, they were asked to write a Biblical “pop cantata” for the choir at a local school, the Colet Court School in London choir.
The goal was to write something poppy and fun; something short that would easily captivate children and teach them the Bible story of Joseph in Egypt. So, the duo got together and wrote a fifteen-minute show. It was filled with zany characters and lots of fun musical styles— pop, rock, country, calypso, you name it.
But Rice and Webber didn’t just stop there. They kept working at it, adding bits and pieces here and there, until it was around twenty minutes long. At this point, the project started getting attention. Positive feedback and review led to more expansion, until the show was thirty-five minutes long. It was at this point that the show was first published in 1969. The company Novello picked it up and ran it alongside other Biblical pieces in their catalogue. Decca Records recorded the production with Tim Rice himself as Pharaoh!
And for a while, Joseph stayed as it was. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber went on to write yet another Biblical musical: Jesus Christ Superstar. This show was immensely popular, and Rice and Webber realized that there was still quite a market for this sort of thing. So they went back to Joseph, promoting it and revising it, adding more and more. Theatre companies began to pick it up, putting on performances that continued to evolve the piece. Then, in 1973, the show had its first West End run.
This Joseph was a little different than the one we know and love today. Today’s Joseph has practically no dialogue; instead, the show features a “sung-through” score in between the big musical numbers. But in the 1973 production, all of that was actually part of a separate piece that ran before the show, known as Jacob’s Journey. People loved it. They got hooked by the varied music and the universal story of families. So, Webber and Rice kept working. They combined Jacob’s Journey with Joseph, and finally—after almost a decade of work—the first performance of the what we know today as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was born.
Even though the musical has been around for about half a century, its popularity hasn’t faded. Schools, theatre companies, and communities around the world have embraced the story of Joseph, his flawed-but-funny brothers, and of course that beautiful coat. What’s not to love? After all, this is the Festival’s second time putting it on! (The Festival’s first production was in 1998, with the now-famous Matt Bomer playing Isaacher.)
So whether you’ve seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat one time or one hundred, be sure to make your way to Cedar City this summer to enjoy one of the most fun pieces of theatre you’ll ever see. With the brilliant Brad Carroll at its helm and the awesome talent of Utah Shakespeare Festival actors and technicians, it’s sure to be a performance you won’t forget.” Close your eyes, [we’ll] pull back the curtain,” and you’ll see for certain just how great this show really is.
Something Terrific Happened at the Gala
J. Stuart Adams (left), speaker of the House of Representatives, and Spencer J. Cox, lieutenant governor, perform.
“Something terrific’s happened!” gushed Hildy, “Wait till I tell you!”
Hildy is the heroine of the hilarious play, The Front Page, presented at the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s recent Make a Scene Gala, a gala with a twist. A newspaper reporter, Hildy was excited about a big story she was working on; but she could just as easily have been talking about the Festival’s new and exciting event which took place on February 8 at Harman Hall Theatre in West Valley City.
The Make a Scene event to raise funds for the Festival education programs was not just another gala and dinner. It was a fun night of theatre starring some of Utah’s most notable luminaries: Lieutenant Governor Spencer J. Cox in the role of The Mayor; his wife Abby as Mrs. Schlosser; President of the Utah State Senate J. Stuart Adams as Pincus; Utah State Representative Patrice M. Arent as Earl Williams; radio host Doug Fabrizio as McCue #1; Salt Lake Tribune columnist Ann Cannon as McCue #2; KTVX news anchor Don Hudson as Bruce Grant #2; Deseret News Head Digital Officer Burke Olsen as Kruger #1; business leaders Craig C. Wagstaff (Bruce Grant #1) and Jeffery R. Nelson (Kruger #2); as well as many more. It was directed by Festival Founder Fred C. Adams and popular actor Quinn Mattfeld.
“This is the first of its kind for a Festival fundraiser, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results,” said Donn Jersey, director of development. “It was an evening filled with good spirit, entertaining improvisation, and tremendous laughs.”
This madcap comedy by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur is set in a 1920s Chicago newsroom and definitely tickled everyone’s funny bones. The play was preceded by recognition of the evening’s honorees, former President of the Utah State Senate Wayne L. Niederhauser and Dominion Energy, and was followed by a party with gourmet food stations and socializing.
“We’re very excited and pleased with the results,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “I want to thank all of our sponsors, West Valley City and its staff, the staff of the Festival, and everyone who performed and attended. Together they helped us make a fun and memorable event that will be a great financial benefit to the Festival’s education programs.”
The generous sponsors of the Make a Scene Gala were Zions Bank, the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Embassy Suites, Big-D Construction, Dominion Energy, Rocky Mountain Power, the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, and West Valley City.
As the Mayor said near the end of the play: “I personally am tickled to death!”
Announcing Four New Staff Members
Four new year-round employees have recently been hired at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and are already in their offices, or soon will be, working toward the 2019 season and beyond. The four are Brandon Burk, development associate; Emily Duncan, development associate; Gabrielle Piazza, company manager; and Danielle Davis, assistant electrics director.
“The Utah Shakespeare Festival is fortunate to have identified four terrific professionals to fill key roles on the staff,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “All four were hired after national searches, and it’s always rewarding to see high quality theatre professionals eager to work here.”
Brandon Burk
Brandon Burk is well known to Festival audiences as an actor, but is now working year-round at the Festival as a development associate, helping to bolster the Festival fundraising efforts. He has played various roles the past four years, including Cliton in The Liar and Roderigo in Othello in 2018. He holds an MFA from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas’s Professional Actor Training Program and a B.A. in theatre from Indiana University Pennsylvania. He has worked as an instructor and coach of acting, dialects/speech, and stage combat and as a guest artist and adjunct faculty member at High Point University and UNLV. He is also the former artistic director of The Onyx Theatre and Off Strip Productions in Las Vegas.
“From the moment I arrived in Cedar City for the first time as a patron in 2005, I’ve been in love with the Festival and southern Utah,” he said as he started work on February 4. “My hope is to connect even more with this community in the coming years and inspire others to fall in love as much as I did. I want to spread my passion for the Festival to everyone I meet and help my new Festival family push this amazing company even further.”
Emily Duncan
Emily Duncan will be joining Burk on March 4 as another development associate. She comes to the Festival from Jacksonville, Alabama, and said she gets very invested and involved in the community. “I look forward to collaborating with everyone to advance the vision and mission of the Festival,” she said. “Furthermore, I’m an avid outdoor enthusiast, so from mountain biking and hiking to theatre and the arts, I am excited about the opportunities and adventures in store. I look forward to meeting everyone and working in an environment where there is such a treasured legacy for the arts.”
Most recently, Duncan has worked as the public relations coordinator and tourism and marketing director at the Calhoun County Area Chamber and Visitors Center in Anniston, Alabama. She caught the theatre bug in high school and has worked in various positions in the field. Most notably she served on the Community Actors’ Studio Theatre board of directors in Anniston and, alongside Southern Utah University alum Carrie Colton, co-founded the Shakespeare Project which provides free professional productions of Shakespeare’s works to schools and the community.
“Brandon and Emily both have a love and passion for the Festival that our patrons and donors will truly appreciate. We look forward to seeing the impact they will have in the development department where we are coming off one of our best years in the Festival’s history,” said Development Director Donn Jersey. “Their contributions will certainly take us to new heights in the contributed revenue arena, and the future looks very bright with these new significant additions to the team.”
Gabrielle Piazza
Gabrielle Piazza joined the Festival February 1 as company manager. “The Festival has restored the key position of company manager which had been eliminated several years ago, and we are excited to welcome Gabrielle to this critical role,” said Executive Producer Frank Mack. “With approximately 300 seasonal staff to care for, this year-round position is essential, and we are fortunate to have Gabrielle join us.”
Piazza is completing her MFA degree in arts leadership this spring at Virginia Tech. She also received a BA in mathematics and musical theatre, with a minor in Spanish studies, from Adrian College and studied with the Young Americans College of the Performing Arts. She has worked at various theatres, including as company manager for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, as patron services team member at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and as company manager, resident assistant, and tour cast member for the Young Americans.
“As the Festival’s company manager, I hope to encourage a culture of support and welcome for the individuals that call the Utah Shakespeare Festival their home for any length of time,” she said. “As an artist, I have relied on the hospitality of others and understand the importance of sincerity and empathy in creating space, and I aim to replicate that in this role.”
Danielle Davis
Danielle Davis worked for the Festival the last three seasons as a master electrician, assistant master electrician, and programmer, but joined the Festival as part of the year-round staff on February 5 as assistant electrics director.
Since graduating from Millikin University with a BFA in theatrical production and design, Davis has been splitting her time between various summer stock theatres and freelancing as a lighting and video technician in and around Chicago. Most recently, she has been working as a fabricator and lead technician for RGB Lights, Inc., creating custom LED arrays and video panels for architectural installs, festivals, and street art pieces. When not at RGB, she worked with the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts as a master electrician coordinating lighting and video needs for tours, concerts, and various theatre performances.
“I hope to help the electrics department continue to grow and better cater to the needs of our wonderful designers,” she said. “This will be an exciting opportunity to be a part of a community that is committed to creating high caliber art. I am excited to get back into an environment that allows me to be a mentor to others while continuing to grow my own knowledge.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Danielle as assistant electrics director,” concluded Mack. “She has worked several years at the Festival and brings a wealth of technical and artistic skill to our electrics and sound department.”
The 2019 lineup of plays includes four by Shakespeare: Macbeth, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and the Festival’s four and one-half hour finale of the King Henry VI plays dubbed The Conclusion of Henry VI: Parts Two and Three. In addition, the season will include The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Price by Arthur Miller, and Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe.
Tickets for the season are now on sale: visit the Festival website at bard.org, call 800-PLAYTIX, or visit the Ticket Office at the Beverley Center for the Arts.
Community Leaders to Star at "Make a Scene"
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is inviting everyone to Make a Scene and join them in their annual fundraising event in Salt Lake City February 8, 2019 at 7 p.m. in Harman Hall Theatre—with a twist that is sure to make this the best time you’ve ever had at a fundraising event.
The evening will feature a staged reading of the hilarious play The Front Page, with several local and state politicians, business leaders, and media personalities starring in various roles. A reception with gourmet food stations will follow the performance. Harman Hall Theatre is located at 3333 Decker Lake Drive in West Valley City.
This madcap comedy by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur is set in a 1920s Chicago newsroom and will definitely tickle your funny bone—especially when such local celebrities as Lieutenant Governor Spencer J. Cox, media personalities Don Hudson and Doug Fabrizio, and various senators, representatives, and business leaders take the stage. The show will be directed by Festival Founder Fred. C. Adams and popular Festival actor Quinn Mattfeld.
“This event will be unlike anything the Utah Shakespeare Festival has ever done in its 57-year history,” said Adams. “You will have the time of your life as you laugh along with many cultural and political leaders and celebrities throughout Utah. Please, come laugh with us and support the many important education programs at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.”
The ticket price is $275 and is all inclusive; no additional fundraising will be part of the event. Honorees for the evening will be former President of the Utah Senate Wayne L. Niederhauser and Dominion Energy.
For information, the latest casting, and to order tickets, visit bard.org/make-a-scene, call Director of Development Donn Jersey at 435-586-7880, or email info@bard.org.
Education Tour Hits the Road
Stefanie Resnick (left) as Lady Macbeth and Jennifer Vosters as Malcolm in the Festival’s 2019 Shakespeare-in-the-Schools production of Macbeth
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is once again hitting the road with its Shakespeare-in-the-Schools touring production—this year performing one of the world’s first psychological thrillers, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
The tour will be performing nearly 60 shows for over 120 schools and 25,000 students across the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. The cast and crew will be on the road for thirteen weeks from January through April to bring this classic tragedy to schools, community centers, and correctional facilities. Students will have the chance to watch the show and then participate in a post-show discussion and workshops in Stage Combat, Performing Shakespeare’s Text, Technical Theatre and Developing Character through Improvisation.
Macbeth will premiere in Cedar City with school performances on January 22 at Foothill High School Youth Detention Facility and on January 22 and 23 at the Southern Utah University Auditorium Theatre. The first public performance will be on January 23 at 7:30 p.m., also in the Auditorium Theatre. General admission tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the Festival ticket office at 800-PLAYTIX (800-752-9849) or online at www.bard.org/tour. Tickets purchased ahead of time will be available at will call in the Auditorium Theatre. On the night of the performance, only cash and checks will be accepted at the Auditorium Theatre door, whereas credit and debit cards will be accepted at the Festival’s main ticket office next to the Anes Theatre. Admission is free for SUU students.
Michael Bahr, the Festival’s education director for twenty years is directing this year’s touring production. Previously he taught high school in California and northern Utah. He has created numerous outreach programs that serve over 30,000 students annually. He has a bachelor’s degree in theatre and a masters degree in education from Southern Utah University.
“For many of our audiences this will be the first time they have seen a professional Shakespeare production,” said Bahr. “This program seeks to entertain, enrich, and educate with innovative and accessible performances to rural and urban schools and communities, many of which would not have this opportunity otherwise.”
Actors in the touring company include a number who have worked at the Festival, as well as professionally across the country. They are:
Cordell Cole (Witch, Macduff) received his BFA in acting from Brenau University (Gainesville Theatre Alliance). He is new at the Festival, but some favorite credits include American Shakespeare Center Alliance Theatre, American Players Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare, Essential Theatre Festival.
Abby Nakken (Witch, Duncan) is a recent graduate of Southern Utah University and a Cedar City native. She has appeared at the Festival in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare in Love, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Greenshow. Other credits include work at Second Studio Theater Company and the Neil Simon Festival.
Stefanie Resnick (Witch, Lady Macbeth) previously toured with the Festival’s The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Originally from New York, she received her BA in journalism from UW-Madison and her MFA in performance from UNLV. She has performed in all but five U.S. states.
Tim Sailer (Macbeth) is new to the Festival. He received an MFA from the University of Houston and spent five years at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia. Other theatres include Texas Shakespeare Festival, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, and Commonweal Theatre Company.
Karen Thorla (Banquo, Lady Macduff) is a New York based actor and writer with a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. She has worked with the Utah Shakespeare Festival (Julius Caesar, educational tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and others.
Jennifer Vosters (Malcolm, Fleance, Musician) is an actor, director, and musician from Wisconsin. She performed at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2017 and has also worked at Lyric Repertory Company, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival, and several Milwaukee theatres.
In addition, the tour company includes two technical and administrative artists:
Austin Andrews (Company/Tour Manager) is returning to the Festival for his fifth season. He is recent graduate of Southern Utah University’s BFA technical theatre and design program and has worked on productions such as the Festival’s 2016 Henry V and Much Ado about Nothing.
Casey Duke (Technical Director) comes from Mississippi, where she earned her BA in theatre in 2014. New to the Festival, her previous credits include multiple seasons at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, designing lights in the Tallahassee circuit and in regional summer stock companies, and mounting the then-Broadway-bound Holiday Inn at Goodspeed Musicals.
In addition to support from the Shakespeare for a New Generation program which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, this tour’s school performance partners are the Utah State Office of Education: Professional Outreach Programs in the Schools, Wells Fargo; Mountain West Small Business Finance, Ally Bank, and Southern Utah University.
For more information, visit www.bard.org/tour
Announcing Auditions for Playmakers Youth Program
CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced auditions for its Playmakers production Newsies. Youth ages six to seventeen are invited to audition.
The program provides young actors a chance to rehearse, learn, and then perform this fun and popular musical. An audition workshop is scheduled for January 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. This will give a chance for those interested to prepare for auditions the next day, January 10. Audition music is now available on the Festival’s website at bard.org/playmakers, and a signup form to schedule audition times will be available after the first of the year.
Once auditions are completed and participants are announced, rehearsals will begin on January 14 and extend through the opening performance on March 13. School performances of Newsies will be from March 14 to 18, with special public performances on March 15 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m.
The program trains youth in theatre fundamentals, including how to sing and dance with a live piano, rehearsal and performance etiquette, and how to work, share, give, and play with others.
Britannia Howe is directing and teaching this program. She created a similar program for young performers in Ashland, Oregon, and is thrilled to provide this training for young artists here in Cedar City.
“It’s thrilling to know that the youth of Cedar City will be telling a story about adolescents their very age who lived one hundred years ago,” she said. “Newsies has many themes, but my favorite is that children do, indeed, have power. It’s for that reason I’m excited that Playmakers is producing this delightful play.”
For more information, call 435-865-8333 or visit the webpage at www.bard.org/playmakers.
Michael Bahr Honored as Educator of the Year
The Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce recently announced the recipients of the sixty-eighth annual Best of Cedar City Awards, including Utah Shakespeare Festival Education Director Michael Bahr as Educator of the Year.
After four months of nominations and voting by the community, the chamber announced the winners in twelve different categories, and will announce the Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Award at the chamber gala. The winners will receive their awards and recognition at the annual chamber gala on January 18, 2019 in the Sharwan Smith Student Center Ballroom at Southern Utah University.
“Thanks to the chamber of commerce and to everyone who voted. This is a wonderful honor,” said Bahr. “I am thrilled to be a part of this community which is so supportive of education and our children.”
Other award winners are Southern Utah University President Scott L Wyatt, Man of the Year; Jennie Hendricks, Woman of the Year; Ken Bettridge Distributing, Business of the Year; Southwest Technical College, Employer of the Year; Lin’s Fresh Marketplace, Customer Service of the Year; Southwest Technical College, Innovative Business of the Year; Kenadie Terry, Young Citizen of the Year; Centro Wood Fired Pizza, Restaurant of the Year; Iron County Care and Share, Organization of the Year; Michael Stults, Medical Professional of the Year; and Eric Schmutz, Legacy Award–Lifetime Achievement.
According to the chamber, these awards “honor community members and businesses for encouraging and promoting a positive and vital economy and preserving those unique qualities that make the Cedar City area a very special place to live, work, and visit.”
“I am so glad to see Michael Bahr receive this recognition which is so abundantly deserved,” said Festival Executive Producer Frank Mack. “Michael is a devoted educator and a core part of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and it’s wonderful to see the community express its appreciation for his brilliant work.”