The Glories of Playing Falstaff

Brother, Can You Coin a Word? 

Blog # 4 Oh, What a Knight! 

Victor Hugo was asked to pen a brief introduction to a newly translated (into French, by his son) version of Shakespeare’s play.  He came back with a 300 page tome.  Authors, critics, and scholars cannot resist perpetually Shakesplaining the Sweet Swan of Avon and his characters.  I could try to match wits with that heap of genius, trading Bardbarbs with Priestly, Auden, Hazlitt, and Granville-Barker, or try to out Bloom Bloom on Falstaffiana, but I’d fall short, so I’d best take advantage of my unique vantage point; 11 times inside the belly of the behemoth.  And like Shakespeare I’ll coin a new word:  Anthroportrayology; the study of Falstaff by performing him.  Here are clumsy, random and oddball observations I’ve made of the Fat Knight being the Fat Knight. And so I don’t go Hugo, I will strictly stick to my self-imposed limit of 1000 words per blog and keep my thoughts tedious and brief.

Fasten your seat belts; we’re in for a blimpy ride!   Tackling Falstaff is to go dirigible-istic…like entering the Versailles of bouncy castles.  ‘Tackle’ is the perfect word in that it originates from the idea of gaining control over something with ropes, like a wild horse or Professor Marvel’s balloon.  Gulliver-like Falstaff cannot be tied down; he rises, ascends, soars till in the clear sky of fame he o’ershines all as much as the full moon doth the stars in the firmament. He is a humongous, challenging role. 

Playing Sir John is a buffet accompli!  He’s not simply Vice or the Lord of Misrule; he is all things…he is vastly human.  Falstaff is fully formed, forged by a ruthless world set against him.  But he fights back with all he’s got: Aplomb, charm, pathos, rationality, sagacity, invention, appetite, learning, and a dozen more.  And chief amongst his weapons is his wit.  His nimble, youthful mind outthinks anyone; “I am only old in judgement and understanding” he says.  He is the greatest rhetorical escape artist in all Literature, swiping the cheese out of any verbal trap.  The feast of facets that is Falstaff will make any actor fat with acting choices.

Get that prince over the finish line!  Falstaff, the Bible-quoting hulk, pursues a single less-than-divine goal; redemption on Earth.  He seeks not Elysian but strawberry fields…forever.  And for that he must survive the cruel world until Hal is king.  He only has to delay the decay of his aging body.  Shakespeare always has sub-themes in his plays, and Henry IV Part Two constantly touches on growing old, disease, mortality, and Falstaff is acutely aware of Time. He has heard the Chimes at Midnight but never gives up hope of a golden dawn.

The key is freedom!  Shakespeare’s greatest creations; Othello, Hamlet, the Scottish king, and Lear are all hobbled in their first scene or two by fate’s fickle hand, learning of what will plunge them, as Sir Ralph Richardson puts it; “Into an avalanche of circumstances that will become a terrific drubbing in Shakespeare’s washing machine, stripping the characters to the very thread of their fabric.”  Only Falstaff (I think the greatest creation) isn’t taken to the cleaners.  Slight spoiler alert (this sentence only); Falstaff doesn’t find out his fate until the last possible moment of part two…his Shakespearean flaw is a blind spot in his inestimable wisdom…he didn’t see the trap he can’t escape coming. (Resume reading)  Falstaff is free…free to be Falstaff through two entire plays.  Free to do whatever it takes to survive, to which an actor can bring all his imagination and experience.  He’s a chess queen that can move twice in a row; he has nearly bondless freedom 

A cowardly liar?  Imposerous!  Embellisher yes, raconteur yes, but Falstaff sees clearly how the world works.   He may steal a purse but he will not be lectured by those who steal a crown.  He sees through ‘Honor’ to what it can sometimes result in; being bluntly dead.  He rejects war’s self-sacrifice in principle, hollering “Give me life!” on the battlefield.  He is a lover not a fighter, but if badgered into a corner, he will wolverine out using his genuine ferocity; he’ll put the fist in pacifist.  For centuries critics called him a coward, and labeled his antics “a parody” of a soldier. They couldn’t comprehend that Falstaff’s choice to avoid foolishness and folly would become a legitimate viewpoint.  A viewpoint standing in stark contrast to Henry IV’s, whose dying word of advice to Hal is “To busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels.”  Shakespeare was ahead of his time…ahead of all time.

Womb with a view!  After being recognized by Coleville, Falstaff clutches his stomach and says “My womb, my womb, my womb undoes me!”  An intrepid scholar or two has suggested that the word choice ‘womb’ bolsters a theory that Falstaff represents a feminine point of view.  And you know what?…watching Shakespeare’s maturing view expressed by female characters, through Kate in his early Taming of the Shrew talk of the shame in “offering war when they should kneel for peace”, and then in middle play Henry IV part two, the widow Percy, invoking Hotspur’s memory, sensibly plead “For God’s sake go not to these wars!” and then, late into the canon, reading Shakespeare masterfully sum up that view with Volumnia’s (Coriolanus’ mother) passionate appeal in act 5 scene 2, I think those scholars may be on to something!  Knowing how Falstaff, with his womb-manly charm, seeks to kiss My Lady Peace at home, he does seem to wear Shakespeare’s feminine mantle…of course he doesn’t put on a dress until Merry Wives of Windsor.

The repelicious joys of repertory!  Here is a blogblitz of the fun playing a different part each night:  I’m completely surrounded by some of the best actors in the country!  The super-smart audiences grow familiar as they see all three Shakespeare shows, and some more than once.   I get to notice subtle similarities in the different plays, like the unique honesty of both Kate and Cordelia refusing to betray their malevolent sisters, when they justifiably could, rather suffering the consequences.  It is fun to one night strive to put over Falstaff, and the next have my biggest worry be hanging a King Lear banner correctly (and I’m more nervous about that banner than anything).  Likewise it is cool being ersatz father to Sam Ashdown in Henry then being actual father to him in Shrew.  I love the continual discovery working with superb scene mates…the tiniest details in Shakespeare become “ah ha!” moments, like seeing Saren Nofs-Snyder play a moment a certain way caused me to alter saying the word “flattering” to the “false” sense rather than the “complimentary” sense.  It suddenly opened up the whole scene with Doll Tearsheet, leading to as tender a moment as any in Shakespeare…and a thousand more joys.

Falstaffection!  What I love most playing Falstaff is Shakespeare’s sub-theme of having Sir John measuring everyone he meets by how they can laugh.  From the moment he first limps onstage chiding all Mankind that he alone is the cause of all laughter to the moment his life changes hearing the new king say “Reply not with a fool-born jest”  laughter is Falstaff’s life’s blood.  For me the saddest moment in the play is Falstaff planning how he will make Prince Harry laugh…pining for a once-was, that he doesn’t know is a never-will-be.

There is Honor in that word Falstaff! The one-of-a-kind love story that is Falstaff and Hal in parts one and two is not only momentous within Shakespeare‘s canon, but all Theatre!   The act 2 scene 4 tavern scene in part one, where Hal and Falstaff majestificently take turns playing Hal’s father, and then Falstaff playing Hal with all that is unsaid and below the surface, to me is the birth of modern theatre.  And then to play its mirror, the act 2 scene 4 tavern scene in part two, with decay and entropy here and glory gone, and Falstaff speak of being “the man of action”, it is Shakespeare’s genius to have Hal run out to do his duty.  The world is seeing (and needing) Henry the Fifth for the first time!  When you think that the next thing Shakespeare created when he took up his quill again was Beatrice and Benedick, the Ali and Frazier of repartee, you know he was at this moment in the groove of all time; his greatest plays were about to spill forth.  He changed Theatre by creating human beings, introspective, flawed, conflicted.  And to stand on stage and be a part of that glorious moment, that fulcrum on which all Theatre was catapulted to its full potential is…is…well the word hasn’t been coined yet to describe it.

Final Word Count:  1517.  Oops! (I get it now Mr. Hugo)  Oh well…to paraphrase Falstaff, “The laws of blogging are at my commandment!”  (By my count I’ve coined 18 new words and phrases!  And I’m sure none of them will make it into the vocabulary.  But if each of the 1517 words was a newly coined word, they still wouldn’t beat Shakespeare; he bedazzled the language, coining thousands.) 

For my previous blog check out http://www.bard.org/news/l14odvhph5w3vtuexgggge1jkkg8ym 

My Next blog:  #5 The Great Shakespeare Mystery

Company Spotlight: Kaitlin Mills and Aaron Stephenson

Kaitlin Mills, Actor

Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?
Yes! This is my third summer season as a member of the acting company.

Where’s your home base?
Currently it’s Pittsburgh, PA.

What’s your education/training background?
I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Classical Acting from Southern Utah University.

What brought you to your field and what keeps you doing your craft?
I first knew I wanted to act when the USF tour came to my high school. Now, what drives me to keep up the work is the connection made with the audience. It’s a connection that you don’t really get from any other art form, and when it does happen it’s magic.

How will you spend your time off while here?
Probably eating at all my favorite restaurants in town! I also love the outdoors, so I’ll try to get some good hiking in.

What does the Festival Experience mean to you?
The Festival Experience for me has to do with making those connections with the patrons. Here, unlike anywhere else I’ve worked, you have so many opportunities to meet the people who come see the shows. There are workshops and talkbacks and so much more. You really get to see, firsthand, the impact the work has.

Do you have a favorite memory of working in the Adams Theatre?
There are so many to choose from! I grew up loving this theatre, so if I have to choose, it would be working on it professionally for the first time in The Tempest.

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
I would like to be able to change my appearance at will. It would be really helpful as an actor!

If you had a time machine, where would you like to visit?
I would love to see a Shakespeare play performed in his time!

Aaron Stephenson, Lead Audio Engineer

Have you ever worked at the Festival before? If so, for how many years and in what roles/capacity?
This is my first year at the festival, and first time in Utah.

Where’s your home base?
312, The Windy City.

What’s your education/training background?
I studied performance at Nebraska Wesleyan, and later completed the sound engineering apprenticeship with Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

What brought you to your field and what keeps you doing your craft?
I came for the music and stayed for the storytelling. I love how flexible sound can be. It is both passive and active, as we create moods and atmospheres, as well as help inform the inner lives of the actors, and often represent unseen characters in the world of the show.

How will you spend your time off while here?
I want to hike, explore, find concerts and friends, and hopefully bring a little bit of Chicago to the Cedar City life.

What does the Festival Experience mean to you?
I like theatre that is an immersive experience. The wide spectrum of work combined with the green show and high level of community involvement represents a commitment to the art form that inspires and invigorates me as an artist.

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
I would love to be able to teleport, as well as be impervious to temperature/weather. I love to travel and that would allow me to go EVERYWHERE.

If you had a time machine, where would you like to visit?
I think I would visit my parents when they were my age, so that we could better understand each other’s joys and challenges.

Audiences Are Raving

“Tremendous.” “Action, drama, and intensity abound.” “Must see.” “Amazing. Loved every second.” “WOW!” “What a show!”

Guests have been flocking to our 2015 season, and many of them have commented on social media or via email on their “Festival Experience.”

Read All Their Comments

Bardway, Baby! a Night of Musical Magic

Cedar City, UT – Bardway, Baby! is back at the Utah Shakespeare Festival for its sixth annual night of musical entertainment. Bardway, Baby! is a late-night concert event which features family friendly music. Performed by Festival actors, the concert will be August 7 at 11:30 p.m. in the Auditorium Theatre. Tickets are $25 for reserved seating and are available now at the Festival ticket office, online at www.bard.org, and by calling 1-800-PLAYTIX. 

Not only is Bardway, Baby! an evening of delightful show tunes, but it’s the largest annual fundraiser for the Festival’s Artistic Initiative Fund, which was established by Artistic Directors David Ivers and Brian Vaughn. The fund serves to increase the size and scope of the Festival’s production design aesthetic, as well as increase the Festival’s national and international presence.

“We are thrilled to once again produce Bardway, Baby! for our guests,” said Ivers. “This special evening of performance showcases the incredible talents of our company and raises money for the Artistic Initiative Fund which directly benefits the productions on our stages each season. I hope our community and beyond will support this exciting and unique event!”

Brandon Burk and Anthony Simone, actors in this year’s company, are co-hosting and directing. According to Burk, “Bardway, Baby! is a great opportunity for actors to be involved in the Festival Experience and showoff their range of talent. It’s a real treat for patrons to see the breadth and scope of these performers.”

Performers include Melinda Pfundstein, Michael Scott Harris, Christine Jugueta, Samantha Ma, Nigel Huckle, Allie Babich, Bree Murphy, Natasha Harris, Zack Powell, Michael C. Thatcher, and Kaitlin Margaret Mills. Musical direction is by Todd Olson.

Mary Poppins Joins the 2016 Season at the Utah Shakespeare Festival

Mary Poppins Blows in on the East Wind

CEDAR CITY, UT – With so much to look forward to in 2016, the Utah Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to have secured the rights to Disney’s beloved musical, Mary Poppins. Before a public announcement could be made a signed contract and confirmation had to be received which just happened late last week.

Artistic Directors David Ivers and Brian Vaughn are trilled to be bringing Mary Poppins to Cedar City. “It’s the perfect complement to a season that will introduce the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts to our audiences,” said Ivers.

“With a lush score by the Sherman Brothers, book by Julian Fellowes (of Downton Abbey fame), based on P. L. Travers endearing children’s books, as well as the award-winning Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins is in every way Shakespearean,” said Vaughn. “ With equal parts music, magic, wit and wonder, it is the perfect offering for the young and young at heart.”  Even grownups can learn a lesson from the “practically perfect in everyway” nanny who advises “anything can happen if you let it.”

Mary Poppins is the story of the Banks family and how their lives change when a mysterious and magical nanny, Mary Poppins, arrives at their home on Cherry Tree Lane. This fun for the whole family musical features all the classic songs, “Spoonful of Sugar”, “Chim Chim Cher-ee”, and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”.

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins was written by Julian Fellowes with music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman (with new songs, additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe).

Announced earlier, here are the additional titles in the 55th season at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. In the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre will be William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V and Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers.

In the Randall L. Jones Theatrewill be the Marx Brother’s romp, The Cocoanuts with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by George S. Kaufman, Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple and now Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins.

In the new Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre, will be Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and the musical murder mystery, Murder for Two with book and lyrics by Kellen Blair and book and music by Joe Kinosian.

With so much changing next year, be assured that “Your Festival Experience” is still at the forefront of every visit, but now all located in one amazing Center for the Arts. The Festival will still offer props, costume, actor and literary seminars, orientations, Greenshows and of course backstage tours of our new facilities.

Tickets for the 2016 season go on sale August 4. They will be available via the Festival website, www.bard.org; telephone, 800-PLAYTIX or at the Ticket Office.

In the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

• Henry V by William Shakespeare, June to September
• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, June to September
• The Three Musketeers by Ken Ludwig adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, June to September

In the Randall L. Jones Theatre

• The Cocoanuts, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by George S. Kaufman, July to October
• Mary Poppins, by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh,July to September
• The Odd Couple by Neil Simon, September to October

In the Eileen and Allen Anes Theatre

• Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, July to October
• Murder for Two, book and lyrics by Kellen Blair and book and music by Joe Kinosian, August to October

Greenshow Actor Blog

The Greenshow with Jade Payton and Tyler Sparacio

This year’s Greenshow features eight performers, five of whom are new to the Festival. And just in case you don’t know what the Greenshow is, it’s a free 30 minute frolic of song, dance, laughter, Elizabethan sweets, and just plain fun. The Greenshow stage is in the courtyard next to the Adams Theatre. The Greenshow offers three different shows: Irish (before King Lear), English (before Henry IV, Part 2), and Italian (before The Taming of the Shrew).

We met with two of the performers to learn more. Jade Payton is new to the Festival and Tyler Sparacio is back for his second year.

Tell us about this year’s shows.

Tyler: All the shows are completely different. The dancing is more complex. And we have the whole Italian night which is a new theme. And even though we had an English and Irish night last year, these are completely different. For example, the egg dance in the English night is replaced with a broom dance.

Josh Stavros is directing the shows. Did he write them as well? Tell us about the creative process.

Jade: Josh came in with an outline and some dialogue. He and Christine Kellogg (choreographer) then worked together to figure it all out based on the strengths of the performers.

Tyler: Everyone has their niche and is showcased in their strength. But there’s also some challenges. 

Jade:  For example, I’ve never tap-danced before and I learned how for Irish night. And I get to do some gymnastics in Italian night.

There’s always so much audience interaction, especially with the kids. Do you plan that?

Tyler: When we’re going to interact with the audience is planned. What we do is not planned – it depends on the kids that night.

Jade: There are moments in rehearsal where we think this is a place where interaction could happen. But until I saw kids in the audience, I didn’t really understand how important the show was to them and what we really are doing it for.

Talk about the transition time from the end of the Greenshow to being on stage for a mainstage play.

Tyler: All of us are in the ensemble for South Pacific. Luckily, we’re not in the first scene, but we still have to race across the street to the Randall to get into new costumes for the show.

Jade: And we’re both understudying roles. I’m understudying for Shrew and Tyler for Amadeus.

You can see the free Greenshow every night, Monday through Saturday, at 7:10 p.m. from June 25 to September 5 on the green and the courtyard surrounding the Adams Shakespearean Theatre. You can see the complete cast information at http://www.bard.org/the-greenshow-artists-and-cast/

#utahshakes #greenshow

Charley's Aunt Actor Blog

Charley’s Aunt with Michael Doherty (Lord Fancourt Babberley) and Christine Jugueta (Donna Lucia d’ Alvadorez)

Christine Jugueta (Donna Lucia d’ Alvadorez)

This season’s comedy, Charley’s Aunt, is a classic British farce, where a quiet luncheon turns into a corset-busting masquerade. Two college chums go to great lengths to woo a pair of charming young ladies, including persuading their wacky friend to pose as an aunt from Brazil—where the nuts come from.

We recently spent some time with the two “aunts”: Michael Doherty who plays Lord Fancourt Babberley and Christine Jugueta who plays Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez. Both are new to the Festival this year.

How do you rehearse for a farce? How much is learning text versus your “business”?   (A piece of unscripted or improvised action, often comic in intention, used to establish a character, fill a pause in dialogue, or to establish a scene.)

Michael: We spent so much time rehearsing this one piece of business with this very specific prop and this very specific liquid. It’s a minute of stage time and it’s hours and hours of rehearsal. Every line, there’s a move, a look, there’s something happening. It’s a science. And then getting it down and making it look real and organic - it’s like a dance.

Christine: In terms of working with text versus business – we’ve more than any show. We also spent a lot of time on our British accents with the help of Michael J. Barnes, the voice and text coach. We’re really on that and trying to find the right voice.

Michael Doherty (Lord Fancourt Babberley)

Why do you think this play is timeless?

Christine: It’s the timelessness of optimism and good old romance. I’m struck by the sense of second chances in love. It seems most of the characters are trying to win a second chance or they have the surprise of a second chance. That’s lovely in terms of romance.

Michael: It’s so funny by today’s standards. We haven’t stopped laughing while we rehearse it. Timelessness in comedy goes a long way. It’s structured so beautifully, and it’s so smartly written. It’s long for a comedy – three acts, but in each act there’s something new.

The show is about false identity and really, really high stakes - higher than it would be in real life. And then being able to fool as many people as we do. Watching Fancourt win over people. You think he’s doomed from the get-go but he keeps fooling people.

Michael Doherty (Lord Fancourt Babberley), Christine Jugueta (Donna Lucia d’ Alvadorez) and Allie Babich (Ela Delahay).

You’re both new to the Festival – what are your impressions?

Michael: I’m struck by the sense of ensemble throughout the whole company. I love the way people look out for each other. There’s lots of love and support you don’t always find in this business.

Christine: There’s a sense of a high school reunion feel in the company and you get to play every day. Everybody is so committed to the work – so engaged and serious. It’s delightful.

Charley’s Aunt opened in preview on June 26 and runs through October 31. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX. You can learn more about the play, including cast, costume designs and director interviews at http://www.bard.org/plays/2015/charleys-aunt.

2016 Expected to be a Big Year at the Utah Shakespeare Festival

2016 Expected to be a Big Year at the Utah Shakespeare Festival

CEDAR CITY, UT – The future is rising at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Taking shape on the campus of Southern Utah University is the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts, which will house the Festival’s new outdoor theatre, the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre; the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre; and much needed production, rehearsal and education space. The center for the arts is sure to become an arts mecca and one of the premier arts destinations in the West.

Thus, 2016 is a big year at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and the leadership team is excited to share the much-awaited announcement of the 55th season running from June 27 to October 22. Artistic Directors David Ivers and Brian Vaughn recently announced the season, which includes three Shakespeare classics, three musicals and two comedies.

Opening in the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre will be Henry V by William Shakespeare. This is the final play in the Henry IV tetralogy and a continuation of the Festival’s commitment to the History Cycle. In Henry V audiences will watch as young Prince Hal takes the throne to become one of England’s finest kings.

Also featured in the Engelstad Theatre is Shakespeare’s timeless romantic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. Much Ado introduces us to the bantering Beatrice and Benedick, one of Shakespeare’s wittiest and most lovable pair of lovers. And “it’s all for one and one for all” in Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s famous action packed, sword fighting quest for all time, The Three Musketeers.

Audiences can rest assured that the open-air Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre will have the same intimate actor-audience relationship they’ve grown to love.  In fact, the Engelstad will enhance the experience for both our audience members and our company. It will be ADA accessible, have additional restrooms and will be on the same side of the street as the Randall L. Jones Theatre. The new theatre is the next step in further elevating the capacity of the Utah Shakespeare Festival to continually produce artistic, relevant, and meaningful productions of William Shakespeare’s work.

In the Randall L. Jones Theatre a sidesplitting comedy awaits you with a hilarious Marx Brother’s romp, The Cocoanuts with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by George S. Kaufman. This musical comedy is sure to leave audiences rolling in the aisles. And, opening later in the season is the unforgettable mismatched pair of Felix and Oscar in Neil Simon’s beloved comedy, The Odd Couple.

With final details pending, another family popular musical will be added to the Randall mix and announced soon.

The Festival is thrilled to open the Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre, a 200-seat theatre, which will provide a third, flexible option for smaller, more intimate plays. The first play to be produced in the Anes Studio Theatre will be Shakespeare’s powerful political drama, Julius Caesar. It’s an action-packed drama perfect for an election year. It’s a play that still resonates with today’s modern audience.

And rounding out the Festival’s programing is a new musical murder mystery, Murder for Two, which features just two actors*.* One actor investigates the crime. The other plays all the suspects. And they both play the piano. It’s a tour-de-force musical that will keep everyone on their toes. Murder for Two featuresbook and lyrics by Kellen Blair and book and music by Joe Kinosian.

With so much changing next year, be assured that “Your Festival Experience” is still at the forefront of every visit, but now all located in one amazing Center for the Arts. The Festival will still offer props, costume, actor and literary seminars, orientations, Greenshows and of course backstage tours of our new facilities.

Excitement and anticipation is rising as everyday buildings take shape. Thank you for your support and continued belief in the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Watch the website (www.bard.org) for more information as it’s revealed throughout the year.

Tickets for the 2016 season go on sale August 4. They will be available via the Festival website, www.bard.org; telephone, 800-PLAYTIX or at the Ticket Office.

In Summary:

In the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre

• Henry V by William Shakespeare, June to September
• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, June to September
• The Three Musketeers by Ken Ludwig adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, June to September

In the Randall L. Jones Theatre

• The Cocoanuts, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by George S. Kaufman, June to October
• The Odd Couple by Neil Simon, September to October
• Mary Poppins, June to September

In the Eileen and Allen Anes Theatre

• Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, July to October
• Murder for Two, book and lyrics by Kellen Blair and book and music by Joe Kinosian, August to October

Going Once, Going Twice. Place a Bid in Our Online Auction

Even if you can’t take part in the Festival Board of Governors Fundraising Gala July 10, you can be part of the action—and bid on some fantastic bargains. One exciting part of the gala is an online auction now until July 12. And it’s open to everyone!

It includes a wide range of items to bid on, from vacation packages and artwork to concerts and fabulous dining. For instance, you can bid on six suite tickets to the “Smoke + Mirrors” Concert of Imagine Dragons, along with dinner at Flemings Prime Steakhouse in Las Vegas. Or, if something quieter is more to your liking, you can try your luck at a two-night stay in Zion National Park, including dinner and gas. Or you can purchase an opportunity to sit in the control booth during South Pacific and watch the stage manager and light and sound operators do their work.

All told, you can bid on 40 different items. So, visit our auction website at www.biddingforgood.com/bard and see all the great items available. Then make a bid or two for your favorites. But hurry. The auction ends July 12, and these great bargains are going once, going twice . . .

Cabaret Organizers, Larry Bull & Natasha Harris

An Interview with Cabaret Organizers, Larry Bull & Natasha Harris

REACH Cabaret, the fun-filled Thursday night variety show, has a new home. This year, it will be at Off the Cuff, 913 South Main in Cedar City.

We met with Larry Bull and Natasha Harris to learn more.

Larry: It’s very exciting. Off the Cuff is a wonderful space in that it’s specifically designed for performances. There’s not a bad seat in the house, there will be no standing in the back, everyone can be accommodated.  We can fit about 250 people in there.

TJ and Wendy Penrod who run OTC are very enthusiastic and we’re really excited for them to host. From a performance standpoint, OTC will be exciting – they have a wonderful green room, there’s a good amount of backstage, there’s multiple entrances and exits so we can have fun with that.

Natasha: It opens up our options as to what kind of performances we can have.

What about the format for this year?

Natasha: It’s much the same with an emphasis on variety. We’d like there to be as much different talent as possible. We’re reaching out to more than just the acting company – the production staff, house management. We’re hoping to have a wider group of people audition and perform.

When do performers audition?

Larry:  Auditions are on Tuesdays from 10 – 1. That’s one of the most fun things. It’s created a bit of a live TV buzz like SNL. We see what we have at the beginning of the week, we put together a line up and the show is made up of what’s provided to us in the audition. Some weeks, it might be mostly musical, some weeks more variety.

How are you making sure that patrons know about the new location?

Larry: It’s on every piece of material. The words “new location” are larger than “Reach Cabaret”. We’re posting somebody at the Grind (last year’s location) to head off folks. We have program inserts. There’s a display sandwich board, and we’ll have people stationed in the lobbies on Thursday evenings.

The money raised through donations at the REACH Cabaret is used to provide transportation and housing for casting directors from other theatres so company members can audition during their long run here. This year, they are targeting between eighteen and twenty different guests. Prior guests included Disney, PCPA, and New York and Chicago casting agents. The guests see all six shows and audition any REACH member who wishes to participate.

REACH Cabaret begins Thursday, July 9 and runs through September 3. Off The Cuff is at 913 South Main, in the same mall as IFA, Staples and Bealls. The doors will open about 10:30pm and the show begins as soon after 11pm as possible – once the actors and audience get there from the plays that evening. Suggested donation is $11. There will be concessions available.

So remember – NEW LOCATION! 11th Season, 11 o’clock, $11. You can find the most up-to-date information on the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ReachPresentsTheCabaret