News From the Festival
Take a Hilarious Look at William Shakespeare's "Long Lost First Play"
The Washington Post called William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) “a breathlessly irreverent and pun-filled romp!” DC Metro added that it is “vaudeville for our times!” And Metro Weekly called it “a non-stop crowd pleaser!”
Yet, the most apt description may come from one of the two playwrights responsible for this wacky Shakespearean send-up being presented this summer at the Utah Shakespeare Festival: “The show is a roller-coaster ride through the newly discovered first play that Shakespeare ever wrote and is not recommended for people with heart conditions, back problems, inner-ear disorder, or English degrees,” said Reed Martin, with his tongue firmly in his cheek. “The authors cannot be held responsible for expectant mothers.”
But seriously, what is this play, which is premiering regionally at the Festival from July 28 to October 21, all about? Austin Tichenor, the other half of this off-beat playwriting duo, told of touring the Folger Shakespeare Library vaults in 2010 and hearing from then-director Gail Paster that her holy grail would be an actual manuscript of a Shakespeare play in the Bard’s own hand. “Because we are nothing but givers,” said Tichenor, “we decided to hurry history along and create the long-lost manuscript we all hoped to find.” Seriously.
Martin plowed ahead: “The conceit of the show is that we find (in a parking lot in Leicester, England, of course!) the first play that Shakespeare ever wrote. He was seventeen at the time and it contained every character and plot device that we now see in his later plays, but they are all woven together into a brand new, 400-year-old storyline.”
The play they “found” was over 100 hours long, so the duo, thankfully, reduced it down to under two hours. Thus, William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) was born!
Christopher Edwards, who is directing the play for the Festival, added: “The play is a three-person comic romp. . . . That said, the three actors are taking on a daunting task trying to produce an un-producible play. The actors are a bit naïve, full of themselves, and ready for the challenge ahead, so conceptually they are actors putting on a play.”
Whew!
On the surface, the plot is simple: Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream has an ancient grudge against Ariel from The Tempest. As they call upon other characters and plot elements from various Shakespeare plays, however, things get frenetic as they turn the canon upside-down and in the process create such strange bedfellows as Hamlet and Lady Macbeth, Viola and Richard III, King Lear and the Weird Sisters, and Dromio and Juliet.
“The actual creative process involved equal measures of writing and archeology,” said Tichenor. “We wanted to dig around and find actual Shakespeare lines we could repurpose whenever we could. The fun part was mixing and matching characters and lines from throughout the canon and creating similar-but-new dramatic (and comic) situations.”
Martin and Tichenor are of course two of three actors who introduced the world to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) in 1987, a play that was popularly produced (with different actors) at the Festival in both 1999 and 2009. The humor and frenzied pace of that play carries over into William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged), but there are many differences.
“We wanted to write something in the spirit of all our previous Reduced Shakespeare Company shows but that was driven less by vaudeville and more by narrative,” said Tichenor. “Long Lost Shakes tells a single story from beginning to end and mostly features characters who aren’t even mentioned in The Complete Works. Also, at least 95 percent of ‘Long Lost Shakes’ is in verse!”
Edwards—who through his direction will be trying to take all this energy, focus it, and then let is loose on Festival audiences—is excited to be working on this comedy. “I love what David Ivers, Brian Vaughn, and R. Scott Phillips are doing at the Utah Shakespeare Festival,” he said. “It is a great opportunity to do this play for the first time in the United States outside of the Reduced Shakespeare Company. Their plays are great and a blast to do as much for the creative team and the actors as they are for the audience.”
Okay. Now, the playwrights should get the last say on what this play is about and why Festival audiences will love it.
First Tichenor: “I think audiences are going to be surprised how familiar ‘Long Lost Shakes’ feels, which just shows how deeply Shakespeare is embedded into our cultural DNA,” he said. “As real as magic and the supernatural were considered 400 years ago, they serve today as a wonderful metaphor for the magic of theatre, which is what I hope ‘Long Lost Shakes’ ultimately celebrates.”
And Martin on what audience members should watch for: “Thieves and pickpockets. In keeping with Shakespeare’s original practices, we understand the Utah Shakespeare Festival employs gangs of roving vagabonds and ne’er-do-wells. [Editor’s note: No we don’t!] Watch your purse!”
Enough said!
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s 56th season, which will run from June 29 to October 21. Other plays in the season are As You Like It, Shakespeare in Love, Romeo and Juliet, Guys and Dolls, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Treasure Island, The Tavern, and How To Fight Loneliness. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).
Festival Announces 2017 Words3 Titles, Playwrights
CEDAR CITY, UT—The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced play titles and playwrights for its 2017 new plays program Words Cubed.
Featured in the play readings in the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre will be Shrew! by Amy Freed (August 4, 5, and 30, and September 1) and Pearl’s in the House by Art Manke (August 11, 12, and 31, and September 2).
The Festival announced last autumn a new name, an increased commitment, and an enhanced mission for its new plays program, and this season will see the fruits of these labors thus far. The new name of the program, Words Cubed, comes from a line in Hamlet, “Words, words, words,” and focuses the new program firmly on the text and work of playwrights. The two playwrights will spend a week at the Festival working with professional directors and actors to refine the plays which will then be presented as staged readings, followed by an instructive discussion between the playwright, actors, and audience members.
Shrew! by Amy Freed
Most people are familiar with Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, but what if a modern playwright were to reinterpret the play in an attempt to give it more gender parity, more balance? What would be different? The answers are in Amy Freed’s delicious Shrew!, a hilarious new take on Shakespeare’s classic battle of the sexes.
Amy Freed is the author of Shrew!; The Monster Builder; Restoration Comedy; The Beard of Avon; Freedomland; Safe in Hell; The Psychic Life of Savages; You, Nero; and other plays. Her work has been produced at South Coast Repertory Theater, New York Theater Workshop, Playwright’s Horizons, Seattle Repertory, Berkeley Rep, the Goodman, Arena Stage, and other theatres. Playwriting awards include D.C.’s Charles MacArthur Award, N.Y. Art’s Club’s Kesselring Prize, and LA and Bay Area Critics’ Circle Awards. She was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist (Freedomland.) She currently serves as artist-in-residence at Stanford University.
Pearl’s in the House by Art Manke
This small cast musical play focuses on the life of Pearl Bailey. A performer, writer, and special delegate to the United Nations in a racially-charged mid-twentieth century America, Bailey was a trailbrazer for African-American women and refused to be defined by the color of her skin. Yet, in Manke’s story, a talk-show host in 1987 questions many of her motives; so Bailey responds the only way she knows how—through her music.
Art Manke is also the playwright, along with Douglas Langworthy, of an adaptation of D. H. Lawrence’s Women in Love. He is an award-winning director whose work has been seen across the country at South Coast Repertory, Denver Center Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Milwaukee Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and many others. He is the co-founder and former artistic director of A Noise Within.
“The Utah Shakespeare Festival has committed its resources and vision to support new works. The ideas of these works should inspire audiences to engage about the importance of fostering the ‘Shakespeares of tomorrow,’” said David Ivers, artistic director. “The plays we have chosen for 2017 will drive that vision forward.”
Tickets are now on sale for all Festival plays: Words Cubed readings of Shrew! and Pearl’s in the House, as well as regular season full productions of As You Like It, Shakespeare in Love, Romeo and Juliet, Guys and Dolls, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Treasure Island, The Tavern, William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play, and How To Fight Loneliness. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).
Festival To Honor R. Scott Phillips on His Retirement
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is celebrating the legacy of Executive Director R. Scott Phillips on Feb. 27 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Festival’s Livingood Artist Lounge. Phillips, who has worked at the Festival for forty years is retiring March 1.
Everyone is invited to the festivities to help celebrate Phillips and his contributions to the Festival. A brief program will highlight his career at 5 p.m.
Phillips graduated from Southern Utah University in 1975, with a double major in speech and drama and business. He was the first full-time employee of the Festival and has worked as marketing director, manager director, interim Festival director and (for the past nine years) executive director.
While at the Festival, Phillips has contributed to many major milestones, such as expanding the Festival’s audience from 19,000 people per season to 113,000; the awarding of the Festival with the 2000 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre; and the crowning achievement of building the $39 million Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts.
Phillips has also served in many other organizations across the nation. He was the co-founder (1991) and past president, (1998-99) of the Shakespeare Theatre Association; past president, Rocky Mountain Theatre Association; and current theatre panelist, National Endowment for the Arts. Phillips’ outstanding work in the field has not gone unappreciated, as he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association in January and the Mark R. Sumner Award from the Institute of Outdoor Drama in October.
*Update March 1, 2017: Zachary Murray, the Festivals’s general manager since 2014, is serving as interim executive director until the position of executive director is filled. For more information on the open position, click here.
R. Scott Phillips Honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award
CEDAR CITY, UT– R. Scott Phillips was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) Conference this January in Baltimore, Maryland. The Shakespeare Theatre Association created the award to celebrate the memory of Douglas N. Cook, who was a co-founder of the Shakespeare Theatre Association and the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s producing artistic director emeritus. Phillips, the Festival’s executive director, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding work in the Festival and the Shakespeare Theatre Association.
Brian Vaughn, one of the Festival’s artistic directors, echoed the Shakespeare Theatre Association’s recognition of Scott and added how deserved this award is. Vaughn said, “deserved is an understatement of profound measure.”
Festival Founder Fred C. Adams had high praise for Scott Phillips’ contributions to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. “For almost 40 years Scott has been the engine that has pushed us forward. Not only is he the repository of our history, knowing most season’s plays and directors from memory, but he has caught the vision of the Festival and kept us on course,” Adams said.
In response to the award, Phillips said, “I am overwhelmed by the generosity of this organization that has bestowed this honor on me. It is doubly significant that this award is given in the name of long time Utah Shakespeare Festival producer Doug Cook. I worked with Doug for over 30 years and to be given this Lifetime Achievement Award that bears his name is deeply gratifying. I will continue to follow the values and vision of this organization and hope that collectively we can continue to change the course of discussion in the world.”
Phillips announced his retirement from the position of executive director in September and will continue until March 1, 2017. His 40 years of work has culminated in great success at the Festival, including the crowning achievement of the new Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts and now the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) was established to provide a forum for the artistic, managerial, and educational leadership for theatres primarily involved with the production of the works of William Shakespeare; to discuss issues and methods of work, resources, and information; and to act as an advocate for Shakespearean productions and training.
A Director's Vision
By Brooke Vlasich
Alexis Baigue (left) as Bottom and Marla Lefler as Titania.
January always marks an important time of year at the Utah Shakespeare Festival—the start of the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools educational tour. Developed by the education department, this annual tour visits different states including Utah, Nevada, and Arizona and performs in schools, correctional facilities, and community centers. This year’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is directed by Britannia Howe, a young woman with a vision focused on the power of text and storytelling.
Britannia’s directing experience began here in Cedar City at Southern Utah University where she graduated with a degree in classical acting and received her teaching license. Although she wanted to be an actor, she changed her mind after attending the American College Theatre Festival where she won a directing competition and was awarded the opportunity to attend workshops at the Kennedy Center. In addition, she has also been the assistant director to David Ivers and J.R. Sullivan on Festival productions and has taught the Shakespeare for Junior Actors class at the Festival for the past nine years. Her repertoire also includes work with the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, Oregon, and the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut.
What attracted Britannia to A Midsummer Night’s Dream? This show was not only the first play Britannia ever read, but it is also a play she views as a touchstone for Shakespeare. She also thinks themes about parental disapproval, love triangles, and dreaming will resonate with younger audiences. Britannia’s concept for the show focuses on taking the text to the stage and showing how influential text and words can be. She’s developed this concept by incorporating images of the text into the scenic design and having the costume designer create costumes made of fabric which people can write on. Britannia sees these elements as a significant part of this production that will help audiences contribute to the show and give them the power to create.
What does Britannia hope to pursue in the future? She wants to continue to work with different types of storytelling, as well as bring theatre to new audiences. One of the main reasons she’s enjoyed directing the Shakespeare-in-the-Schools tour is its combination of education and directing.
Her next endeavor includes directing at the new theatre in Thanksgiving Point, Utah. Wherever her future takes her next, we’ll be watching and supporting this new and innovative director.
Festival Celebrates Champions at 2017 Gala
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is honoring the Ashton Family Foundation, Rocky Mountain Power, and Roy and Elizabeth “Tibby” Simmons, as well as retiring Executive Director R. Scott Phillips at the Festival Forever Celebration February 4 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
As in previous years at the Gala, the Utah Shakespeare Festival wants to celebrate the people, foundations, and corporations who have helped make the Festival’s dreams a reality.
The Festival is honoring the Ashton Family Foundation, led by Alan and Karen Ashton, for its faithful support and generosity for the past 25 years. Alan and Karen rose to great success from modest beginnings through their global software company, WordPerfect, and are widely considered a leading contributor to the quality of life in the state of Utah.
Rocky Mountain Power is being honored this year for its more than 25 years of corporate sponsorship. Rocky Mountain Power (formerly Utah Power & Light) began its Utah presence in Utah, when Salt Lake City became the fifth city in the world to have central station electricity. The Utah Shakespeare Festival reached a milestone in the early 1990s when Utah Power & Light became the Festival’s first-ever corporate sponsorship, a relationship that has continued for over twenty-five seasons.
The Festival is also celebrating Roy and Elizabeth “Tibby” Simmons who made annual trips to the Utah Shakespeare Festival each summer. In 1960, Roy and two colleagues purchased controlling stock in Zions First National Bank and later merged with Lockhart to form Zions Bancorporation. Roy was instrumental in expanding the Festival’s board of governors to include members of Utah’s corporate leaders. Roy passed away in 2006 and Elizabeth in 2009, but their legacy lives on at the Festival.
R. Scott Phillips is being honored for his more than four decades of work at the Festival. Phillips, who will retire February 28, has continually served the Utah Shakespeare Festival for the past 40 years as marketing director, managing director, and executive director. During his time, he expanded the Festival’s audience from 19,000 people per season to 113,000. His crowning achievement was the building of the $39 million Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts, the new home of the Festival.
The Festival Forever Celebration will be on February 4 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Tickets are $200 per person, and tables of ten guests may be purchased for $2,000. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Tickets may be purchased at 435-586-7877.
Educational Tour Hits the Road
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is once again hitting the road with its Shakespeare-in-the-Schools touring production—this year performing the magical story of A Midsummer Night*’s Dream*.
The tour will be performing 65 shows for over 120 schools and 25,000 students throughout the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The cast and crew will be on the road for 14 weeks from January through April to bring this classic comedy 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.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will premiere on January 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. General admission tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Festival ticket office at 800-PLAYTIX (800-752-9849) or online at www.bard.org. Tickets purchased ahead of time will be available at will call in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. On the night of the performance, only cash and checks will be accepted at the Randall Theatre door, whereas credit and debit cards will be accepted at the main ticket office next to the Anes Theatre. Admission is free for SUU students.
Britannia Howe is returning to the Festival as the director for the tour this year. She was inspired by the imagination of this famous play and said that each performance, “starts with an individual on stage opening up a book. Everything is text-driven, and it’s literally page to stage.” From the costumes to the First Folio in the background, the text is coming to life in this rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“Because it’s one of their first touchstones to Shakespeare for many students, Midsummer is so great because it talks about imagination, dreaming and magic,” said Howe.
“I hope that the audience is able to see the power that the written word has and how Shakespeare is timeless and versatile, and that story-telling is transcendent,” she continued.
Howe is a graduate of Southern Utah University and has worked for the Cabaret Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center and the Innovative View Theatre Company. The tour has ten members in its traveling company, and they have come from all around the country to perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
There are some familiar faces this season who have performed with the Festival before. Alexis Baigue (Demetrius/Bottom) acted last year in Henry V and Much Ado about Nothing. Brandon Burk (Lysander/Flute/Cobweb) began working with the Festival in 2015 and in 2016 performed in Much Ado about Nothing, Henry V, and The Three Musketeers. Luke Sidney Johnson (Theseus/Oberon) has previously worked for the Festival in the 2015 and 2016 summer seasons. Karen Thorla (Egeus/Helena/Snug/Mustardseed) worked with the Festival for the 2016 season in Julius Caesar.
The other actors in the cast have brought their talents to A Midsummer Night’s Dream from many different theatres and productions across the country. Madison Kisst (Puck) has worked with Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Nevada Conservatory Theatre, and others. Mara Lefler (Hippolyta/Titania) has appeared at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Indiana Festival Theatre, Salt Lake Shakespeare, and PCPA. Stephanie Resnick (Hermia/Quince/Peaseblossom) has worked with Great River Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Nevada Conservatory Theatre, Jewish Repertory Theatre of Nevada, and TITAN Theatre Company.
The three crew members on the tour are returning to the Festival to make Shakespeare-in-the-Schools possible this year. Elizabeth Marquis (Technical Director) has returned to the Festival from recent work as master electrician/automation engineer at Gateway Playhouse and Haunted Playhouse, Long Island. Miriam Michaels (Stage Manager) worked last fall on Julius Caesar and The Odd Couple. Devery North (Company Manager) has worked previously with the Festival for the 2015 season and the 2016 educational tour of Hamlet.
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, Mountain West Small Business Finance, Ally Bank, and Southern Utah University.
For more information, visit www.bard.org/tour.
Festival Playmakers Announces Auditions for Children's Musical
A scene from the 2016 Playmakers production of Junie B. Jones.
CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced open auditions for children to perform in this spring’s Playmakers production of Once on this Island.
Auditions will be February 7 from 3:15 to 8:15 p.m. in the Garth and Jerri Frehner Rehearsal/Education Hall at the Beverley Center for the Arts. Audition slots will be every 15 minutes, and children will be required to sing one of two songs from the show. Those interested can register for the audition and download the music for the songs at the Festival Playmakers webpage, www.bard.org/playmakers.
Call-back auditions will be the next day, February 8, also in the Frehner Rehearsal/Education Hall.
To help children prepare, the Festival is offering an audition workshop for anyone interested. It will be February 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Frehner Rehearsal/Education Hall. The workshop is optional, but can be very helpful. “We will focus on the two songs that you will be required to sing at your audition,” said Krista Bulloch, education programs manager. “Most of our Playmakers generally find it very useful.”
Performances of the Playmakers version of Once on this Island will be in the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre. School performances will be April 5, 6, 7, and 10. A public performance will be April 8. Exact times will be announced later.
Once on this Island is a highly original and theatrical Caribbean adaptation of the popular fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid.” It garnered eight Tony nominations for its Broadway run, including best musical, book, and score. “This is a fun, lively show that we think our Playmakers will love performing, and our audiences will love seeing,” said Michael Bahr, education director.
For more information, call 435-865-8333 or visit the webpage at www.bard.org/playmakers.
Festival Names Top Ten News Stories of 2016
It is the time of year when every news outlet and public organization seems to announce its top stories of the past twelve months. The past season has been a banner year at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, so we thought we would get in on this fun year-end tradition. It was difficult to narrow it down to just ten stories, but here are those chosen for 2016 by the Festival communications team:
10. Salt Lake City Gala raises record amount for one evening: the gala fundraiser, which honored Founder Fred C. Adams, was February 20 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City and netted over $130,000 for the Festival. The evening, with Amanda Dickson and Brian Martin as masters of ceremonies, featured a social hour, dinner, program, and live dancing.
Read about the Gala
9. Everybody was talking about the 2016 season: From prominent mentions in American Theatre magazine and the Los Angeles Times to a twenty-minute news special on KSL-TV and online shout-outs from fans and friends around the world, this season has been the subject of hundreds of positive notices throughout the country.
American Theatre article | Los Angeles Times article | KSL-TV broadcast
8. Incredible artistic season leads to record number of sold out performances: The 2016 season saw more sold out performances than at any other time in the history of the Festival: 139 sold-out performances, compared to 72 in 2012, which was previously the best season for sold-out houses. Driven by the incredible artistic success of the season, it was, indeed, a stellar year.
Read about the landmark season
7. Long-time volunteer coordinator passes away: On September 11, The Utah Shakespeare Festival staff, artists, guests, and volunteers were saddened by the passing of Anne Judd. She had been a supporter of the Festival for many years in many capacities, most noticeably as volunteer coordinator since 1989. She was also very involved in the New American Playwrights Project, as a wise and steady voice in selecting plays for the program.
Read the complete story
6. Festival Founder appears for the first time on the Festival’s outdoor stage and in a Shakespeare play: It’s easy to assume that Fred C. Adams, the Festival’s founder, has appeared on the Festival’s outdoor stages or at least in a Festival play by William Shakespeare. But, even though he has appeared in other Festival plays and has directed most of the Shakespearean canon, 2016 marked his debut in a Shakespeare play (Verges in Much Ado about Nothing) and on the outdoor stage (the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre).
Read a bio of Adams | Read about his latest recognition
**5. Artistic directors perform in The Odd Couple—and alternate between roles:**On September 16, the Festival opened Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, starring David Ivers and Brian Vaughn as the greatly-at-odds roommates Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar. But they added a twist: They would alternate between the roles and once a week let the audience choose who played whom just before the show started. “Crazy” or “heroic,” it was a resounding success.
Read the Complete Story
4. The Festival unveils new logo: In March, the Festival unveiled a new logo. The new emblem has a connection to the past but an eye firmly on the future. It features a stylized crown with three points which represent the three points of the Festival mission: to educate, enrich, and entertain. They also represent the three Festival theatres and acknowledge the Festival’s beautiful mountain home and the Engelstad Theatre, including the chevron pattern that is so prevalent there.
Read about and view a video explaining the logo
3. New plays program re-envisioned, prompting a world premiere in 2017: On August 12, Artistic Directors David Ivers and Brian Vaughn announced a new name, an increased commitment, and an enhanced mission for the Festival’s new plays program. Formerly known as the New American Playwrights Project (NAPP), the Festival’s primary vehicle for exploring new works is now Words Cubed. One of the first successes of the new program was to present the first staged reading of nationally-recognized playwright Neil LaBute’s new play, How To Fight Loneliness, which will have its premiere production at the Festival during the 2017 season.
Read the Words Cubed Story | Read about Neil LaBute
2. Festival executive director announces retirement: On September 7, R. Scott Phillips, who has worked in leadership of the Festival for forty years, announced his retirement effective March 1, 2017. This was followed up by the announcement on October 21, that Phillips was the recipient of the prestigious Mark R. Sumner Award, granted yearly by the Institute of Outdoor Drama (IOD). The award recognizes significant contributions by an individual in the theatre community.
Read the Retirement Story | Read the Sumner Award Story
1. The Beverley Center, including two new theatres, opens: July 7, 2016 was one of the most noteworthy days in the history of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, as trumpeters heralded the events, dignitaries spoke, and friends cut the ribbon to the new Beverley Taylor Center for the Arts, new home of the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Planned for decades, the center, with two new theatres, administrative and artistic offices and work space, and a rehearsal/education hall, was finally opened to crowds of well-wishers and long-time dreamers.
Read the Complete Story | View Photos of the Dedication
Tickets are now on sale for the Festival’s 56th season. It will run from June 29 to October 21 and features As You Like It, Shakespeare in Love, Romeo and Juliet, Guys and Dolls, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Treasure Island, The Tavern, How To Fight Loneliness, and William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged). For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts at Southern Utah University, which also includes the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).
Festival Employee Grants Wishes and Shares Joy
The Peanuts gang
The nativity
Santa’s reindeer
Happy holidays
Donate to Make-a-Wish
The holiday season is always known for snow, trees, and presents, but it’s also seen as a time for giving to those in need. This December marks an important month for this season in Cedar City because of a member of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s production staff. Ben Hohman, our props director, decorates his home every year with an elaborate light display to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
The idea began from Ben’s volunteer work with the organization 14 years ago. During that time Ben worked as a wish granter and met with individual children, their families, and doctors to determine what the child wanted for Christmas. One particular girl, Olivia, had a life-long dream to meet Mickey Mouse, and Ben raised money to allow Olivia to travel to California to fulfill her wish at Disneyland. Olivia’s joyful spirit is what inspires Ben to decorate his home and raise money and make dreams come true.
Every year, neighbors and local community members visit his walk-through display of around 50,000 lights. He constantly reuses décor and has everything organized and arranged for the following year. Although his website has a donation page, he also has a donation box at the house where many viewers have left letters of admiration. A Southern Utah University student left a note thanking Ben and that he had chosen the light display as the perfect place for a his marriage proposal.
Other activities Ben is involved in for the organization include Breakfast with Santa, an event that involves all Southern Utah Families from Make-a-Wish; Letters to Santa, an event he organizes at many Cedar City locations.
Ben’s dedication to Make-a-Wish is something we can all get behind at the Festival for the holidays, and we hope you’ll be a part of the support this year.