Meet Don Weingust, SUU's Director of Shakespeare Studies

Don Weingust directed his first play at age five, an imaginary western starring himself as gun-blazing cowboy, set in his best friend’s suburban Michigan home. Later in a high school drama class, he was introduced to the playwright who would shape his career, and though he has since professionally acted and directed every genre of play imaginable, as director of the Shakespeare Studies program and theatre professor at SUU, he has devoted much of his life’s work to William Shakespeare.

“This man understood extraordinarily 
the human condition and forged a path 
that no one even knew existed,” explains 
Weingust of the easy decision to focus 
so much of his talent and energy on 
one playwright. “Through Shakespeare’s 
plays, it’s possible to learn so much of 
what one needs to know about life: how 
to be a successful teacher, scholar, friend and family member.”

And with that, he now traces the Bard’s footsteps to unravel one of theatre’s most complex individuals with hundreds of students each year, making a 400-year-old subject relevant to 18-year-olds through the University’s growing ThunderBard Project.

The ThunderBard Project engages the entire freshman class in directed readings, discussion and a viewing of a professionally- produced Shakespeare play shortly after they arrive on campus— home to the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival. Under Weingust’s direction, students glean meaning from the world’s greatest playwright as they acclimate to the University, the community and one another.

And though it may seem arbitrary to some with interests beyond the performing arts, Weingust has a clear vision for all of SUU’s students and is confident the Bard can help bring them along.

“The ThunderBard Project allows students to relate to Shakespeare, of course,” says Weingust. “But as importantly, we open their minds to ideas outside many students’ ways of thinking, and that experience carries over into the rest of their lives.”

The results are tangible, and Weingust’s efforts have directed many undecided students toward a minor in Shakespeare Studies.

On top of administrating ThunderBard and teaching theatre courses, Weingust is an active scholar and thespian. His first book, Acting From Shakespeare’s First Folio: Theory, Text and Performance, revolutionized the field by deciphering what the Bard meant in his first scripts and changing the way others interpret and perform Shakespearean plays.

“I see a light bulb turn on when a student realizes the incredible power, artistry and depth of humanity available to them in Shakespeare’s works.” He adds, “That’s when I know I am doing something right. It ensures me I am right where I need to be.”

Since his early days as a heroic cowboy, Don Weingust has become a vengeful Hamlet, a terrorizing Richard III and even a lovesick Romeo. No matter the character, his ability to excite today’s college students in a centuries-old subject matter and inspire a similar passion in their own academic pursuits shines brighter than any spotlight.

Festival Wins Prestigious Publications Award

Parrett as Ariel, 2013 Tempest, Cover of 2103 Program

The Utah Shakespeare Festival continues to produce quality award-winning work both on and off the stage. This September, the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) paid tribute to the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s marketing and publications at the 58th Annual Convention and Expo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Festival earned two awards in the prestigious IFEA/Haas &Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards competition. The Festival earned a gold award for the best event program and a bronze for best promotional brochure.

Sponsored by industry leader Haas & Wilkerson Insurance, the professional competition draws entries from among the world’s top festivals and events. Awards are given in honor of the highest degree of excellence for a variety of promotional publications, representing a multitude of national and international organizations. Awards were handed out in 69 different categories in total.

“We were competing with organizations from around the world,” said Phil Hermansen, the Festival’s art director. “That puts us in a mix of very large organizations with very expansive resources, so we feel honored to receive this award again.”

Winning entries came from organizations as diverse as the Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville, KY; Memphis in May International Festival, Memphis, TN; 500 Festival, Indianapolis, IN; Des Moines Arts Festival, Des Moines, IA; Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO; Pasadena Tournament of Roses, Pasadena, CA and the Burlington Sound of Music Festival, Burlington, ON, Canada.

International contenders included such diverse event organizations as the Seoul Lantern Festival, Seoul, South Korea; World Gourmet Summit, Singapore; Grolsch Artboom Festival, Krakow, Poland; Stichting Rotterdam Festivals, The Netherlands; Festival Lent, Maribor, Slovenia and the Sentosa Leisure Management, Sentosa, Singapore.

The Festival communications department writes, designs, and produces over 100 publications each year, and also designs, produces, and maintains the Festival’s website, as well as coordinating all media and public relations and marketing efforts. “We’re very proud of our publications,” said Bruce C. Lee, Festival communications director. “We feel that we represent the Festival very well and we have a great team here to accomplish that. This award tells us that we compare very favorably with many other organizations and the world.”

“The IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards Competition recognizes the outstanding accomplishments and top quality creative, promotional, operational and community outreach programs and materials produced by festivals and events around the world,” said IFEA President & CEO, Steven Wood Schmader, CFEE. “Striving for the highest degree of excellence in festival and event promotions and operations in every budget level and every corner of the globe, this competition has not only raised the standards and quality of the festivals and events industry to new levels, but also shows how event producers can use innovation and creativity to achieve a higher level of success.”

Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) is The Premiere Association Supporting and Enabling Festival & Event Professionals Worldwide. In partnership with global affiliates under the umbrellas of IFEA Africa, IFEA Asia, IFEA Australia, IFEA Europe, IFEA Latin America, IFEA Middle East, and IFEA North America the organization’s common vision is for “*A Globally United Industry that Touches Lives in a Positive Way through Celebration,"*The Association offers the most complete source of ideas, resources, information, education and networking for festival and event professionals worldwide.

For a complete list of winners and more information on the IFEA, go to www.ifea.com.

If you didn’t see a program, you can see it online at http://issuu.com/bruceclee/docs/2013brochure

37th Annual Shakespeare Competition

This weekend, more than 3000 students from six states and 118 different schools will descend on Cedar City for the 37th annual Shakespeare Competition, hosted by SUU and the Festival. Competitors range from sixth grade to high school seniors. Each participating school is invited to prepare up to three monologues, two duo/trio scenes, and an ensemble scene, as well as an interpretive dance, minstrel and madrigal music, and several presentations in technical theatre. Performing on Festival stages and in many classrooms on the SUU campus, students are adjudicated by professional actors, directors, dancers, musicians, and artists.

We grabbed a few minutes from Michael Bahr, Education Director and Josh Stavros, Associate Education Director, to learn more.

Is this the biggest year ever?

Stavros: Yes! There are a lot of returning groups, and about a third are schools that are new or returning after a long absence.

The new schools are tied to the Utah Advisory Council for Theatre Teachers (UACTT) http://www.uactt.com/. There’s a much more cohesive group and new teachers are being brought into the fold sooner.

Bahr: Over the last four to five years, 120 – 150 teachers have joined UACTT. Now when you attend their conference and hear “are you going to the Shakespeare Competition?” “ I’ve never been; how do I go…” - there are lots of good things happening and momentum building.

What are the key points of the competition?

Bahr: There are five key elements:

● High quality adjudication - the judges are theatre professionals with a wide diversity of ages, experience and geography.

● Standards: we measure everyone by voice: diction and projection…and the text itself.

● The festival nature of the competition – a kid will see 18 different monologues, so he learns from his own critiquing and from that of others.

● Celebration of their work - Our system allows a best in the round and allows for everyone to be the best.

● Training component - This was the most important theatrical event of the year when I was a teacher. And it set the tone for the year. Many teachers hold competitions at their schools to determine who comes here, so we’re seeing the best of the best.

How does SUU fit into the picture?

Stavros: This is a great recruiting tool for SUU. At the beginning of the school year, I took an informal poll with the faculty of the Theatre Department. By their estimates, 2/3 of the students had participated in the competition.

SUU also uses this for training. For example, the music department is heavily involved, doing more clinics than they’ve ever done. A school group will come down, they will perform a madrigal number, they will get a clinic at that time, then they will also make appointments with music faculty for coaching sessions.

SUU is using more students to teach their technical classes and they’re using it as a training ground. Not only do we have the professionals here training but now professionals in training. There’s education happening on multiple levels. You have the professionals giving back to the up and coming protégés.

Again this year, we will use social media to keep participants and interested followers up to date.

Visit our Twitter at @UTShakesComp, our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/shakespearecomp, and our Instagram @ShakespeareComp to see updates and changes about the competition – these updates will be posted as soon as they are made. Updates will include: schedule changes, live results from the competition, and photos from that day of the competition.

You can also learn more about the competition at http://www.bard.org/competition/index.html where you can see videos from last year’s event.

The Marvelous Wonderettes Brings Back Three Original Creators

Bednarczuk (Cindy Lou), Storrs (Betty Jean), Cook (Missy), and Cozzens (Suzy), Act II Ten Year Reunion

It’s like old home week at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Three of the original creators of The Marvelous Wonderettes have joined together again to direct the Festival’s fall production of this musical trip down memory lane.

Playwright Roger Bean, directing alum of the Utah Shakespeare Festival and creator of *The Marvelous Wonderettes,*is directing the Festival’s production, which opens on September 21 at 2 p.m. Joining him will be Choreographer Bets Malone, who originally created the role of Suzy, and Musical Director Brian William Baker.

Bean, a graduate of Southern Utah University and former Festival marketing and public relations director, has spent nearly his entire life in the theatre. Now a successful director, creator, writer, and producer, he is primarily known for turning golden oldies into entertaining jukebox musicals.

In 1995, Bean directed the Festival’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, followed by The Mikado in 1996. Not long after, he began working with Milwaukee Rep, where the musical first played.

The idea for The Marvelous Wonderettes came from Bean’s mother, who was a song leader and member of a singing trio in high school. “I had absolutely no idea what a song leader was,” said Bean. “So I set out to find the answer, and what came out of my exploration was this sweet little show about four song leaders in high school performing for their fellow classmates.”

The Marvelous Wonderettes is about a singing group of four friends at their 1958 prom. The Wonderettes, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts, sing their hearts out to popular ’50s and ’60s tunes like “It’s My Party”, “Mr. Sandman,” and “Dream Lover”. The girls trade gossip about high school hijinks and teenage romance. Toes will be tapping at this must-take musical trip down memory lane.

Choreographer Bets Malone, who played Suzy in the original production, met Roger Bean in Cedar City while she was a freshman at SUU in 1990. The two stayed close friends, and Bean actually wrote the role of Suzy with Malone in mind. Bean invited her to do the show at the Milwaukee Rep and he told her, “She’d be foolish to not do this project.”

Since then, Malone has performed in numerous productions of the show all across the country, including an award-winning Los Angeles production in 2006, an off-Broadway production in 2008, and an original cast recording.

“I was asked to choreograph the show a couple years ago and put my own spin on it,” said Malone. “I’ve now staged it a few times, including the national tour earlier this year, and it feels incredibly surreal to be back at the Festival.”

Musical Director Brian Baker has known Bean since 1988 when they worked together at a small summer stock theatre in Montana. Bean convinced Baker to attend SUU and pursue a degree in music. While in Cedar City, Baker continued to collaborate with Bean on outside projects, as well as working on several undergraduate musicals. He was heavily involved with the Festival.

Bean selected all of the songs and acquired the rights to use them for The Marvelous Wonderettes. However, he enlisted Baker’s help to manipulate and rearrange the songs. Baker created the sound that audiences will hear. According to Baker, “the goal of the production is to have the music and vocals sound perfect and crystal clear while appearing to be spontaneous and unrehearsed.”

As the success and popularity of his shows increased, Bean felt the need to create his own licensing company, Steele Spring Theatrical Licensing. The full-time staff now handles all of the licensing of The Marvelous Wonderettes and a few of his other shows for theatres all over the country. This allows Bean the flexibility to travel in order to direct or remount shows regionally, and, if he’s lucky, to find time to write new shows.

The Marvelous Wonderettes plays in repertory with Peter and the Starcatcher and Richard II through October 19 in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. For tickets or information, call the Festival ticket office at 1-800-PLAYTIX or visit online at bard.org.

Cate Cozzens (left) as Suzy, Natalie Storrs as Betty Jean, Barbara Jo Bednarczuk as Cindy Lou, and Victoria Cook as Missy, 2013 The Marvelous Wonderettes

Bednarczuk (Cindy Lou),Storrs (Betty Jean), Cozzens (Suzy), and Cook (Missy)

Barbara Jo Bednarczuk as Cindy Lou in The Marvelous Wonderettes

Barbara Jo Bednarczuk is back at the Festival for her fourth season, playing Cindy Lou in The Marvelous Wonderettes. Last season, she played Eponine in Les Mis, and she appeared in The Music Man in 2011 and Pride and Prejudice in 2010.

Bednarczuk (left, then clockwise) (Cindy Lou), Storrs (Betty Jean), Cook (Missy), Cozzens (Suzy)

Have you played this role before?

I have not. One girl in our cast who’s playing Betty Jean - her name is Natalie Storrs - played the role of Betty Jean before and Cindy Lou, so this is her third production. The rest of us are newbies.

When does it take place?

The first act is 1958 at our “super senior prom” and the second act is 10 years later in 1968 at our ten-year reunion.

Cozzens (left) as Suzy, Bednarczuk (Cindy Lou), Storrs (Betty Jean), Cook (Missy)

Tell us about characters…

There are two sets of “best friends”: Cindy Lou & Betty Jean and Missy & Suzy.

Cindy Lou - my character is the vice president or president of every club. She’s the pretty girl, and loves it. She wants nothing more than to be prom queen and thinks she will be. That’s who she’s been her whole life and that’s who she’s been groomed to be by her family.

Betty Jean is the total tom-boy. She will say inappropriate things and make inappropriate sounds at any given moment. She’s a goof ball. They’re a good balance for each other.

Missy is the teacher’s pet. She will do anything to be the biggest brown-noser but she has a good heart. She doesn’t do it out of spite, that’s just who she is.

Suzy is desperately in love with her boyfriend. And she wants everyone to be happy all the time because she’s happy. She thinks everything is funny.

How did you prepare for the role?

I’ve never done anything in this time period before. It was fun to do a little research. It’s been nice to listen to the first recordings of these songs we’re singing. That gives you the attitude of the era, what was acceptable and what wasn’t.

No matter the era, those personalities translate. That’s what’s important about the 2nd act. You see how those personalities grew up a little bit, how they changed. Everyone changes in a different way - you can still see who they are underneath.

What have you been doing since Les Mis last year?

I went back to NYC - my home base - and got on the national tour of Spamalot. It’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail in a musical. I was on the very end of the national tour. I traveled to over 30 different states in less than 5 months. I was very excited when I got to sleep in my own bed. I got to live in NYC and audition during the summer - my first summer not here in a few years. I got to spend time with my family in Ohio, which was really nice.

I’m very excited to be back here. After touring and seeing different audiences, it’s wonderful to be back here. The people here love the theatre and love the people who work at the theatre. They appreciate and respect the work.

The Marvelous Wonderettes opens September 21 and plays through October 19. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX. You can read more about the play at http://www.bard.org/plays/wonderettes2013.html.

The Marvelous Wonderettes- Preview

Bednarczuk

Cozzens

The Marvelous Wonderettes

Written and Created by Roger Bean

Musical Arrangements by Brian William Baker

Directed by Roger Bean

Characters:

Betty Jean: The practical joker of the group, Betty Jean struggles with her relationships with her boyfriend (Act One) and husband (Act Two). Played by Natalie Storrs.

Cindy Lou: The flirt and catty girl of the group, Cindy Lou very much wants to win prom queen and believes the world revolves around her. She goes through a bit of a journey in Act Two. Played by Barbara Jo Bednarczuk.

Missy: The bossy girl of the group, Missy likes to control things; but she is also a bit socially awkward and shy about her secret crush. Played by Victoria Cook.

Bednarczuk (Cindy Lou), Storrs (Betty Jean), Cook (Missy), and Cozzens (Suzy)

Suzy: The happy-go-lucky one of the group, Suzy is positive but also a little on the ditzy side. She is continuously chewing bubble gum. Played by Cate Cozzens.

Synopsis:

Welcome to the 1958 Springfield High School prom and the Wonderettes, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! Between belting out ’50s and ’60s favorites like “It’s My Party”, “Mr. Sandman,” and “Dream Lover,” the girls trade gossip about high school hijinks and teenage romance. Your toes will be tapping at this must-take musical trip down memory lane. 

Marvelous Wonderettes at http://www.bard.org/plays/wonderettes2013.html

The Marvelous Wonderettes opens on September 21 and plays through October 19. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX

Storrs

Cook

David Ivers as Richard II

Ivers as Richard II

David Ivers, Co-Artistic Director at the Festival, is playing the title role in Richard II for the Fall Season. He shared his thoughts about the role and the play.

Have you played this role before?

Ivers as Richard II, Bull as Bollingbrook

No. It’s my favorite Shakespeare play in the canon. I’ve always wanted to play it. There’s something that strikes a chord in me about someone who is thrust into a position because of divine right and recognizes that he doesn’t necessarily have all the faculties to do the job. That speaks to me. It’s an interesting journey - you start to see a greater kind of leader when things are stripped away from him. The more that gets stripped away, the more eloquent, the more vision oriented he becomes.

It is such an interesting dissection of leadership. I just think he’s wildly misunderstood in that - people sometimes think he can be petulant and that he has a side of him that is impetuous and makes bad decisions and all those things are true. But what else is true - how can you blame him? He was 10 years old when the throne was given to him. Advisors made decisions for him his entire life up to adulthood and finally he’s cut loose “ok you make decisions now”. There’s no training in that. He makes some horrible mistakes. He’s a politician and has to cover his tracks a bit.

But I love this notion that underneath it all, he’s remarkably human and remarkably tragic. He’s not a fighting king. He’s political, he’s intellectual, an intensely human king to me. I often say it’s the only king of Shakespeare that David could play because I’m not a Henry V kind of guy. I’m pretty excited.

Why was this play important in Elizabeth’s time?

The thing that’s so important about it for English history is that it’s the fervent, indelible reminder that there is one way you become king and it’s through divine right. Richard recognizes that what’s about to happen with Bolingbrook is the disintegration of divine right. There’s so much irony when he says “here cousin, seize the crown…” - because that’s what you have to do - you have to seize and completely disrupt, remove divine right from our understanding of the world. He doesn’t have to give up the crown. One could say he’s forced, pushed into it, whatever…he could stand his ground. And that’s part of the tragedy…he gives up the crown and then is murdered. He gives this incredible speech about the way the world is ordered and then he’s killed.

I love the political part and I love that it’s a human struggle.

Are you looking forward to working with director, Henry Woronicz?

I’ve known Henry since I was 19 years old. I’ve never worked with him. I’m really excited to work with him. I’m all the things I should be - nervous, anticipatory…really excited.

Why isn’t it produced more often?

Because it’s hard. The narrative and the action is political and based on behavior. There’s not a ton of comedy, there aren’t any sword fights, there’s no active conquering that reveals a hero. It’s the path to the characters who become heroic and non-heroic. There’s so much about it that’s sad and yet there is some heroism. Bolingbrook stands as a man that will give birth to one of the great leaders - restores England’s place. You can’t have that story without having the beginning of it.

Richard II opens on September 21 and plays through October 19. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX. You can learn more about the play at http://www.bard.org/plays/richardII2013.html.

Richard II Preview

Richard II

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Henry Woronicz

Part of the Complete the Canon Project and the second play in the History Cycle

Ivers as Richard II, Bull as Bollingbrook, Richard II 2013

Key Characters:

KING RICHARD II, grandson of King Edward and son of Edward the Black Prince, is king of England when the play opens. Played by David Ivers

QUEEN, Richard’s wife. Played by Melissa Graves

JOHN OF GAUNT, Duke of Lancaster, Richard’s uncle and Henry Bolingbroke’s father, is an elder statesman and the epitome of honor and patriotism. Played by Dan Kremer

HENRY BOLINGBROKE, John of Gaunt’s son, duke of Hereford, claimant to his father’s dukedom of Lancaster, and later King Henry IV. Played by Larry Bull

EDMUND OF LANGLEY, Duke of York, King Richard and Bolingbroke’s uncle. Played by Dan Frezza

DUKE OF AUMERLE, York’s son and the Earl of Rutland, cousin to Richard and Bolingbroke. Played by Drew Shirley

EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND, supporter of Bolingbroke. Played by Brian Vaughn

Synopsis:

Shining a poetic spotlight on the beginning of the War of the Roses, this tragic tale perfectly mixes Shakespeare’s lush language with the history of England. In the process, it reveals a sensitive but flawed king, Richard II, who is deposed by his efficient but passionless cousin, Henry IV, raising questions about the crown, order, and the role of government.

You can learn more about Richard II at http://www.bard.org/plays/richardII2013.html

Richard II opens on September 21 and plays through October 19. You can purchase tickets online at www.bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Dan Kremer

Brian Vaughn

Festival Artistic Directors Play Rivals in Upcoming Richard II

David Ivers as Richard II

The Utah Shakespeare Festival recently announced that Artistic Directors David Ivers and Brian Vaughn will once again be appearing together this fall on the Festival stage. The pair of popular actors will be appearing in the Festival production of Richard II.

Richard II follows this summer’s successful King John as the second in the Shakespeare history cycle, the Festival’s plan to produce all of Shakespeare’s histories in chronological order.

David Ivers

Ivers appears as the title character, a cultured but disconnected king, whose mismanagement of his kingdom brings about his ultimate downfall. It marks the beginning of the War of the Roses in English history and is set in 1398. 

“Richard II is my favorite Shakespeare play,” said Ivers. “I am very excited and humbled to be doing this amazing role. And, as always, it is a pleasure to be on stage with Brian.”

Brian Vaughn

Vaughn plays the Duke of Northumberland, a role he calls “the king-maker” of Richard’s rival, Bolingbroke, and the leader of the rebellion.

“This is a politically action-packed story, and I am thrilled to be playing such a strong character in such a rarely-produced play,” said Vaughn. The last time the Festival produced Richard II was in 1993.

The last time Ivers and Vaughn both appeared in a play by the Bard was The Winter’s Tale in 2011, the year they were appointed as Festival Artistic Directors. Audiences will also remember their outstanding work together in 2012’s Stones in His Pockets.

“David and I thoroughly enjoy working together on stage,” said Vaughn. “Our longtime friendship and love of Shakespeare makes it a joy to explore all the aspects of this work together.”

Richard II tells the story of a king who descended from a powerful royal heritage, but is accused of being out of touch with his kingdom. Because he assumed the throne as a boy, his influential uncles served as advisors—and, at the beginning of the play, one has been murdered. Through turmoil, wars, disputes over authority, and poor decisions, Richard’s ruthless cousin, Bolingbroke, ultimately deposes him, and ignites other nobles and commoners to his side.

It is “an interesting study of executive order and the divine right of a king,” said Ivers. “It really portrays how much has and has not changed politically throughout history.”

Vaughn added, “Shakespeare’s brilliant and astonishing poetry also shows how a king and his strong subjects can affect history for a long time.”

Richard II plays in repertory with Peter and the Starcatcher and The Marvelous Wonderettes September 6 through October 19 in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. For tickets or information, call the Festival ticket office at 1-800-PLAYTIX or visit online at bard.org.

Fall Food Drive

On September 6, the 10th annual fall food drive will kick off at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Last year the Festival was able to donate over 6,700 pounds of food to the Iron County Care and Share, which accounted for almost 20 percent of the total community food donations received during the months of September and October.

Local residents can participate by donating six items of nonperishable food per individual on the day of the performance directly to the Festival and receive a half price ticket to any Tuesday through Thursday performance. This offer is also valid to Peter and the Starcatcher on Friday and Saturday on September 6, 7, 13 and 14. Food donation barrels will be located in the Randall L. Jones Theatre lobby next to the ticket window.

“The food drive for the Iron County Care and Share is a great cause that brings awareness to the hunger problems we have here in southern Utah, “ said Sara Greener, Festival guest services manager. “Guests of the Festival enjoy participating and often come back to the theatre just to drop off food regardless of the discount we offer.”

Residents of Iron, Washington, Kane, Garfield, Sevier, Piute, and Beaver counties in Utah are eligible for the discount, as well as patrons from Lincoln County, Nevada. All residents should bring proof of residency and six non-perishable food items for each discounted ticket they wish to purchase. This offer is good Tuesday through Thursday on the day of the performance only. There is a limit of four discounted tickets per resident I.D.

“Iron County Care and Share provides hunger relief for several thousand adults and children in need each year, an effort that is made possible by the many generous donations of food we receive from the community,” said Joy Jankowiak, executive director of the Iron County Care and Share. “We are excited and honored to partner with the Utah Shakespeare Festival once again this year and look forward to another very successful Fall Food Drive.” 

Tickets for the Festival’s 2013 season, which will run until October 19, are now on sale. The fall season includes Peter and the Starcatcher and The Marvelous Wonderettes, as well as Shakespeare’s Richard II. For more information and tickets visit www.bard.org or call 1-800-PLAYTIX.

The Iron County Care and Share was founded in 1984 by a group of local churches of different denominations to address the issue of hunger in our community. Working with partners in the community, neighboring counties, and in the state, the Iron County Care and Share is able to help homeless and low-income individuals and families work toward self-sufficiency. The Iron County Care and Share is located at 900 North 222 West Cedar City, Utah.