News From the Festival
First Round of Casting
Pfundstein
Ashdown
Sham
Ivers
Utah Shakespeare Festival Reveals First Round of Casting
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is proud to announce the casting of the first eight actors for the 2015 season. All are familiar faces, having appeared at the Festival in the past. Actors include Tony Amendola, Melinda Pfundstein, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, Sam Ashdown, Betsy Mugavero, Peter Sham, David Ivers and Brian Vaughn. Please check for complete casting available soon at www.bard.org.
After several seasons performing in the hit ABC television show, Once Upon a Time, Tony Amendola is back this year in the title role of King Lear. He’ll also be appearing in Henry IV Part Two.Amendola was last at the Festival in 2010 appearing as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and The Porter in Macbeth. Television credits include Once Upon a Time, Continuum, CSI: NY, Dexter, Stargate and The Practice.
Melinda Pfundstein**,** who has appeared in numerous roles at the Festival, will perform this year as Kate in The Taming of the Shrew and Goneril in King Lear. Many Festival-goers will remember Pfundstein for her acclaimed portrayals last year as Olivia in Twelfth Night, Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods and Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. She has also appeared in such roles as Rosaline in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Constance in King John, Fantine in Les Misérables, Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, and many others.
Aaron Galligan-Stierle will take on Luther Billis, the crafty sailor in South Pacific, and Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew. At the Festival last season, Galligan-Stierle played Dromio of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors and Feste in Twelfth Night. Previous seasons he has performed in Peter and the Starcatcher, Anything Goes, The Merchant of Venice, The 39 Steps, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Room Service and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Sam Ashdown returns as Prince Hal in Henry IV Part Two. Ashdown will also be Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew and part of the King Lear ensemble. Ashdown made his Festival debut last year as the young Prince Hal in Henry IV Part One and John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility. He’s performed at a variety of theatres including Chicago Shakespeare Festival, Northlight Theatre, American Players Theatre and Broadway Playhouse.
After a year away, Betsy Mugavero will return to the Festival to play Constanze, the flirtatious and resilient wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus. She will also appear as Kitty Verdun in Charley’s Aunt. Mugavero’s past Festival credits include Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher and Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s Lost in 2013. She’s also been in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Noises Off!, The Winters Tale, As You Like It, Henry V, The School for Wives, and The Taming of the Shrew
Peter Sham, head of the acting and directing program for Southern Utah University’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance,joins the Festival company as Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew. He’ll also have roles in King Lear and *Henry IV Part Two.*Sham is most recently known for his work as book writer/lyricist on Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical, which celebrated a successful run at the Gielgud Theatre on London’s West End. Sham has been in several productions at the Festival, and has performed at the Asolo Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre, Eastside Playhouse, Perry Street Theatre, Artpark and Yale Cabaret.
Along with directing this season, both Artistic Directors, David Ivers and Brian Vaughn, join the acting company with Ivers appearing as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus and Vaughn as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.
As an actor Ivers, had been in over forty productions throughout eighteen seasons, including title roles in Richard II and Scapin. Festival directing credits include Twelfth Night, Twelve Angry Men, Romeo and Juliet, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abriged).
Vaughn has played over forty roles in the past twenty years, including the title roles in Hamlet, Henry V and Cyrano de Bergerac. Festival directing credits include Henry IV, Part One, Peter and the Starcatcher, Dial M for Murder, Greater Tuna, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare in the Schools).
Amendola
Galligan-Stierle
Mugavero
Vaughn
Nine Talented Directors Announced for 54th Season
Brian Vaughn
David Ivers
J.R. Sullivan
Jesse Berger
Nine highly-talented directors from across the country are already knee-deep in costume designs, scenery sketches, and play scripts as they prepare to create the transformative stories of their plays for the 54th season of the Utah Shakespeare Festival June 25 to October 31.
As a tribute to the venerable and much-loved Adams Shakespearean Theatre, Festival Founder Fred C. Adams will be directing The Taming of the Shrewas part of that theatre’s farewell year. After this year, the Festival will be moving its outdoor productions to the Engelstad Theatre, which is currently under construction. “I am thrilled to be able to direct one last time in this lovely theatre,” said Adams. “While The Taming of the Shrew is a delightful comedy, I feel that it is also a beautiful love story, and we will have a lot of fun discovering this often-overlooked facet of this delicious play."
Artistic Director Brian Vaughn will direct the fourth play in the Festival’s continuing History Cycle, Henry IV Part Two. Vaughn directed Henry IV Part One last year and is excited to be continuing the story with the same design team.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for our audience to see the progression of characters, within a recognizable context of design that will hopefully help provide clarity for the continuity of the story,” said Vaughn. “Henry IV Part Two is a very different play than *Part One;*there is a greater sense of melancholy throughout and where Part One is all about youth and rebellion, Part Twois very much about age and people dying away. It also has a fabulous cliff-hanger at the end which propels us into Shakespeare’s greatest treatise on war, Henry V.”
Sharon Ott will direct the famous tragedy of King Learwith Tony Amendola playing the title role*.* Ott and Amendola worked together at the Festival in 2010 when Ott directed The Merchant of Venice and Amendola played the role of Shylock. Ott has directed at theaters throughout the country including Playwrights Horizons, Public Theater, Manhattan Theater Club in New York, Arena Stage, South Coast Repertory, Huntington Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and many others.
*Charley’s Aunt,*the hilarious British farce, will be directed by Artistic Director David Ivers. Ivers has directed many productions at the Festival including last year’s Twelfth Night and 2013’s Twelve Angry Men. Love, romance, and secret disguises drive the plot of Charley’s Aunt, which will play throughout the Festival season, from June to October.
After directing last summer’s gold rush themed The Comedy of Errors, Brad Carroll is back at the Festival directing this year’s musical, South Pacific. Carroll has been involved with numerous productions at the Festival including*, Les Misérables, Johnny Guitar, HMS Pinafore*,Spitfire Grill. South Pacific is one of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s most beloved musicals with songs such as “Some Enchanted Evening” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair.”
J.R. Sullivan will direct Amadeus, Peter Shaffer’s brilliant fictionalized account of the lives of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antionio Salieri. Sullivan has directed many productions at the Festival, including Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, *Stones in His Pockets, The Glass Menagerie, Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear,andThe Importance of Being Earnest.*Other theatre credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Robynn Rodriguez returns to the Festival to direct Shakespeare’s romantic adventure The Two Gentleman of Verona. In 2013 Rodriguez made her professional directorial debut at the Utah Shakespeare Festival with the acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s, King John. A classically trained actor, Rodriguez received her MFA from ACT and was a member of the resident acting company at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 22 seasons where she appeared in over 40 productions. Chockfull of confused men, cunning maidens, and a hilarious and sly dog, The Two Gentleman of Veronawill delight anyone who has ever been in love or would like to be.
Directing the frightfully exciting Draculais Jesse Bergerwho is the founding artistic director of Red Bull Theater, an off-Broadway theater in New York City. Berger has directed new plays and classics for The Old Globe, Denver Center, Pittsburgh Public, PlayMakersRep, Barrington Stage and many more. Steven Dietz’sadaptation of Bram Stoker’s Draculawill run this fall through Halloween. Get ready to sink your teeth into the story of the world’s most famous vampire.
This year’s Greenshow will once again be directed by Associate Education Director Josh Stavros. Last year Stavros directed the Greenshow along with Fred C. Adams. There will be three different themed nights for patrons to enjoy, each one taking elements of classic songs and dances. The free pre-show entertainment features spirited song and dance, the perfect way to spend thirty minutes before that evening’s show. Add Elizabethan sweets, and you’ll have a fun-filled frolic to prepare you for the main stage performance that follows.
“I’m very much looking forward to engaging with these six powerful and entertaining plays, said Ivers. “It will be particularly lovely to witness our Founder working on the Adams stage as we make way for the new Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts in 2016. Our 2015 season has something for every age and gender and is sure to provide our patrons with a huge palette of theatre!”
Tickets are on sale for the Festival’s 54th season, which will run from June 25 to October 31, 2015. For more information and tickets visitwww.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
Fred Adams
Sharon Ott
Brad Carroll
Robynn Rodriguez
Josh Stavros
Molly Wetzel- Witch & Lady Macduff in the Tour Production of Macbeth
The tour is still out on the road and going strong since January. We decided to check in with actor Molly Wetzel, who plays a Witch, Lady Macduff and many other parts in Macbeth. Molly has been with the Festival for the last two seasons. Last year, she appeared in The Greenshow, Into the Woods as Lucinda and Sense and Sensibility. She earned her BFA at Otterbein University and currently lives in New York City. This is her first role in Macbeth and her first time touring. She shared her thoughts about the play and the tour.
How do you make this story relevant for the students?
I honestly think that the story is relevant to everyone. Everyone can relate to wanting something, and figuring out what lengths you need to go to get what you want. Macbeth just has to go to great lengths to become king (spoiler alert?). We watch Macbeth deal with the consequences of his actions, and ultimately have to decide for ourselves what he should have done, which of his actions we would consider “worth it”, and whether he truly got what he wanted. The show still makes me think when we run it, and I’m very familiar with the script!
What do you hope the students will take-away from your production?
I honestly think that the story is relevant to everyone. Everyone can relate to wanting something, and figuring out what lengths you need to go to get what you want. Macbeth just has to go to great lengths to become king (spoiler alert?). We watch Macbeth deal with the consequences of his actions, and ultimately have to decide for ourselves what he should have done, which of his actions we would consider “worth it”, and whether he truly got what he wanted. The show still makes me think when we run it, and I’m very familiar with the script!
What do you hope the students will take-away from your production?
I really hope the students will take away that good and bad isn’t always black and white- there are definite shades of grey. Macbeth does things that are bad for sure, but does it really make him a bad person? Is there such a thing as a bad person? I hope that our production starts a dialogue about that.
What are some challenges that you might run into while on the road?
I’m sure there will be some mishaps during the show throughout the run, and it may be challenging to fix some of them with such a small group. During summers at USF if you rip a costume, you let your dresser know and they take the appropriate steps to fix it. On the road we only have the 10 of us and we’ll have to fix it ourselves! Luckily our costume team taught us how to take care of things like this before we left, but I imagine we’ll have those sorts of challenges. However, so far our group is really cohesive and can go with the flow- I’m sure that will help us a lot.
The Tour is currently on the road, performing in 5 states until April. You can learn more at
http://www.bard.org/education/tour.html
#utahshakes #shakestour
Wetzel, Harris, Ivers (Witches)
Call for Artists: The Adams Theatre 2015 Farewell Art Exhibit
CEDAR CITY, UT - To celebrate and commemorate the final season in the historic Adams Shakespearean Theatre, the Utah Shakespeare Festival is sponsoring a juried exhibition of artistic depictions of this beloved and beautiful building.
The Festival is asking artists from all mediums to submit original artwork by April 1, 2015. The exhibition will be juried, and accepted artwork may be for sale or solely for exhibition. Artwork will be displayed in the Randall L. Jones Theatre lobby June 25 through October 31, 2015. Artists may also produce prints to be sold at the Randall Gifts and Gallery, if they desire.
Submitted artwork must have the Adams Theatre, in whole or in part, as the motif. All visual media will be accepted, including, but not limited to, oil paintings, watercolors, stained glass, photography, mosaics, bronze work, pastels, pencil or ink drawings, wood carvings, quilts, and ceramics.
“The Adams Theatre has some incredibly beautiful and unique architecture,” said Phil Hermansen, Festival art director and coordinator of the exhibit. “I hope artists from anywhere will visit and then submit their artistic interpretation of this beloved building.”
If you have questions or you’d like to submit a jpeg of your work, email Phil Hermansen at hermansen@bard.org
Tickets are on sale for the Festival’s 54th season, which will run from June 25 to October 31, 2015. The eight-play season includes Shakespeare’s King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV Part Two and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The season will also include Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas and Steven Dietz’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.
Meet our New Production Manager
A New Production Manager for the Utah Shakespeare Festival
We are proud to announce Becky Merold as the new production manager for the Festival. Becky has worked at the Festival seasonally for twelve years as a stage manager and has worked on more than twenty plays throughout her tenure here.
“We are very excited to have Becky on board as our new production manager,” said Artistic Director Brian Vaughn. “Becky has already proved invaluable in the success of our stage management department, and I eagerly look forward to her leadership within production. Her organizational skills matched with her current knowledge of our repertory system make her immensely qualified for the position, and I know she will have a tremendous impact here at the Festival.”
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Merold has spent most of her time in the Midwest where she received her BFA in stage management with a minor in business at the Conservatory Theatre at Webster College. Merold worked at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre for ten years and just recently Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park as an Actors’ Equity Association-member stage manager.
“Becky Merold is the right person with experience both at other theaters and here at the Festival,” said Ben Hohman, props director. “She has an excitement about our organization and its future. We are looking forward to working with her to move the Festival forward into the new Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts which will lead to more exciting and dynamic productions, while being mindful of the Festival’s unique history and its commitment to classical theater.”
“I am continually inspired by the Festival’s commitment to high caliber theater,” stated Merold. “This would not be possible without our passionate and talented production staff. I am thrilled to lead them in creating a great 54th season. I am also excited to work more closely with Fred Adams, R. Scott Phillips, Brian Vaughn, and David Ivers and the entire Festival staff as we embark on the opening of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts.”
Progress is being made on the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts
Where we last left off….
There was a giant hole in the ground for the basement of the new Engelstad Theatre.
Layout of the theatre’s footprint. This will be the guideline for the foundation pouring. The trap room has also been excavated.
Fred Adams on site during the first cement pouring.
The next step was to outline and build the promenade walls that will outline the theatre.
Cement pouring of promenade walls.
“Thou Wall, O Wall, O sweet and lovely Wall”
Promenade Randall View
After the promenade walls were set, the basement walls were next to go up.
The basement walls can now be seen from the ground floor.
Now the team is working on the office buildings and the new Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre.
The Studio Theatre has been leveled and the north side walls are being put up.
A lot has happened over the past few months and the Festival is thrilled to see our new home coming together. We will keep our audiences, donors, and fans updated as we build this dream together. To watch the construction in real time visit our website. Construction Progress
Bryan Sommer, Stage Manager for the Macbeth Tour
Bryan Sommer, a Salt Lake City native and SUU alum, is the stage manager for this year’s educational tour, Macbeth. As stage manager, he will be the head wrangler for this production as they travel throughout 5 states, performing the show 89 times in spaces as large as a high-school gym and as small as living room. Here are his thoughts about this adventure.
Have you ever been involved with this play before?
Yes, my first time working on Macbeth was as an Assistant Stage Manager while in school at Southern Utah University. This play is actually my first repeat of a Shakespearean play! Macbeth is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays; I’m looking forward to many more [Macbeths] in my future.
Have you ever toured before?
Does a Cruise Ship count?! No, I’ve never toured a show to several venues. But, I have taken a show and its venue to multiple locations aboard a ship!
What are you looking forward to the most?
Seeing the kids’ response to the play. One of my favorite aspects of stage managing is witnessing the audience’s reaction/response to the play before them. And, especially with a young audience, the impression theatre can have on young eyes is amazing. It can change their life. I know my first play, Sherlock Holmes and the West End Horror, changed mine.
What do you hope kids will take-away from your production?
What’s done is done. Our actions always have a consequence; let that be a good or bad consequence, a reaction nonetheless. In this case, Macbeth and his wife do whatever it takes to get what they want, and to retain it. This includes murder, which then leads to their guilt, insanity, and ultimately their defeat.
Any other thoughts?
I’m thrilled to be going on this tour. We have an amazing cast and an excellent production that, I know, the kids will enjoy very much.
Fred C. Adams Honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award
Two great men were honored recently at the twenty-fifth annual Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) conference held earlier this January in San Francisco. To recognize and preserve the memory of Douglas N. Cook, who was a co-founder of the Shakespeare Theatre Association and the Festival’s producing artistic director emeritus, STA created the Douglas N. Cook Lifetime Achievement Award, which was graciously bestowed on Festival Founder Fred C. Adams.
According to STA Past President, Jeff Watkins of Atlanta Shakespeare Company, the award was given to Adams to acknowledge his twenty-five years of service and involvement with STA. “We really should express our gratitude, love, and admiration while Fred is still with us,” said Watkins. “The time to honor Fred is now. His contributions to the field cannot be overstated. Likewise his impact on STA, which is such a supportive atmosphere… so much knowledge, so much wisdom, so freely shared among great and small, and Fred, of course, would be the great.”
“To me, Fred is the living, beating heart of STA,” said STA Executive Director Patrick Flick. “As a young member he was quick to make me feel welcome with a smile, a handshake, a joke or a kernel of wisdom. Now, Fred is a trusted ally and friend, and holds the keys to the institutional memory of STA. That is invaluable not only to me, but to every member of STA.”
“I was totally surprised,” said Adams. “I had no idea this Lifetime Achievement Award had even been created in memory of Doug, so I’m thrilled to be recognized with an award that has his name on it. I am so fond of STA and hope it continues to thrive in the years to come.”
“STA has over 150 members from around the world and continues to grow,” stated Flick. “None of this would have been possible without that first meeting on a cold January day in 1991 when Fred Adams joined Doug Cook, Sidney Berger and a ‘happy few’ Shakespearean producers in Washington, DC to create this wonderful thing we now call STA."
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.
Drew Shirley as Macbeth for the Tour production
Drew Shirley, who is playing Macbeth in our Tour production, has appeared here at the Festival for 4 seasons. Last year, he was in The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, and Sherlock Holmes: the Final Adventure. He earned his BFA at Emporia State University and his MFA in acting at University of Illinois. While he has participated in a school tour for the Kingsman Shakespeare Company, this will be his first tour where they travel in a van and visit 5 states in 3 months.
We chatted with Drew, right after the first two performances: one at the Iron County Correctional Facility in front of ten young inmates and one for the Iron County schools with over 900 kids.
Tell us your thoughts about Shakespeare and this play.
First – in high school, I hated Shakespeare (like many kids). It wasn’t until I worked here in 2008 that I realized how incredible Shakespeare can be. When you see it done well, it can be life changing!
Our production of Macbeth is a high octane train ride to hell. It moves really fast. The first half is like a ghost story or a fable. The second half is the descent into insanity, war and hell.
And it’s not a morality play. Shakespeare often shows us the opposite side of the same coin; no one is all good or all evil. It makes it more interesting. The play is about making decisions and the consequences of those decisions. All of us make the “easy” decision – the little evils that we do. Macbeth makes the “easy” decision to kill the king. And then it all unravels.
What are your thoughts on touring?
I think it’s important for the kids. I figure there’s someone like me out there who hates Shakespeare. I have a shot to make him/her fall in love – it could be life changing.
With live theatre, there is something asked of the audience. It’s not like a movie. If they stay with us for the first ten minutes to get through the language, then they will be hooked and stay with us.
I also believe it’s important for adult actors to work with the kids in the workshops. We can show that acting isn’t just selfish but that we can help people. I’ll teach the Improv and Shakespeare Text workshops.
What about the different venues?
We have to be really careful with the fights because each school and venue will be different. They are stage fights, but it is contact fighting, so it can be scary if we don’t practice. And I have to worry about breathing when I’m “dead.” I’m always afraid I’ll cough.
I know we’ll have challenges on the road – flat tires, breakdowns, lighting or sound that doesn’t work. So we have to be totally in the moment and chose how to respond. We have a really good group of people with a good balance of skills and temperaments so I know we’ll be fine.
The Tour departed Cedar City on January 22 for Las Vegas. After two weeks there, they will hit the road, visiting five states with 65 performances . You can learn more about the tour at
Honk, Jr. Audition Workshops Available for Festival Playmakers Program
Cedar City, UT – Kids ages 6 to 17 are invited to attend a free audition workshop series on Monday, February 2 and Tuesday, February 3 hosted by the education department of the Utah Shakespeare Festival. The workshop will be in the Southern Utah University Music Building, room 209 from 4 to 6 p.m.
The goal of the audition workshop series is to introduce new and returning students to Playmakers and get them ready for the Honk, Jr. auditions, which are on Wednesday, February 4 starting at 3 p.m. Kids will play theatre games, get to know the Playmakers team, and learn the audition songs. If parents or students have questions, are nervous about auditioning or need a little more practice, this is a great way to get to know the Playmakers program. Attending the workshop is not required to audition for Playmakers.
If individuals are interested in attending the workshop or scheduling an audition time, please visit usfplaymakers.blogspot.com and click “Honk Jr. Auditions” tab at the top.
For the audition on February 4, performers should come prepared to sing one of the songs linked on the audition page. An accompanist will be provided. Callbacks will be Thursday, February 5 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the SUU Music Building, room 209.
Rehearsals for this Playmakers’ production will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays beginning February 9. Once a child is cast, the cost of participation in the production is $200. This covers the cost of royalties, costumes, set, etc. Scholarships are available in many cases. Honk, Jr. will be performed in the Auditorium Theatre from April 8 through April 13.
Check the website and Facebook page for more information.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/utahshakespeareplaymakers
Website: bard.org/education/classes/playmakers.html
Blog: http://usfplaymakers.blogspot.com