Utah Shakespearean Festival
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The Utah Shakespearean Festival is a festival of repertory productions of the works of William Shakespeare and other dramatists. The Festival is held during the summer and fall on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, within a day’s drive of seven national parks and other attractions. It is 2½ hours northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada and 3½ hours south of Salt Lake City, Utah.
In 2000, the Festival was the recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award.
The Seasons
The Festival produces a six-show repertory season in the summer of each year. Traditionally, three of the plays produced are Shakespearean or other period (such as the works of Christopher Marlowe) texts (often a comedy, a drama, and a history) and three non-Shakespearean classics or works by more contemporary dramatists, one of which is usually a musical. The Shakespearean plays are usually performed in the outdoor Adams Shakespearean Theatre, which is modeled after Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The other plays are performed on an indoor proscenium stage, the Randall L. Jones Theatre. The Auditorium Theatre is used for matinee performances of plays normally produced at night in the Adams, and as a rainstage for Adams performances. Shows of the summer season usually run from mid-June through early September.
Recently, the Festival has begun producing a three-show fall season as well. The fall season usually consists of one Shakespearean play, a contemporary work or non-Shakespearean classic, and a musical. The fall season runs in the Randall Theatre only, between late September and the end of October.
The Festival also produces a "plays in progress" series, featuring staged readings of new plays in a workshop setting.
History
The Festival was founded in 1961 by Fred C. Adams. After a stint in the New York theatre scene, he made his way to Cedar City and realized the potential for such a venture in the area, hoping to draw on the 150,000 or so tourists that come to the area's National Parks in the summer. He subsequently traveled to Ashland, Oregon to observe the operations of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is often regarded as one of the foremost festivals in the world. While in Ashland, Adams met and interviewed OSF's founder, Angus L. Bowmer, extensively.
The Festival produced its first season in 1962 on a makeshift platform on the college campus, drawing from students and townspeople to form its first company, who not only acted, but also built their own props, costumes, and stage. This first season featured three of Shakespeare's plays: The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and The Merchant of Venice. The first season yielded some 3,300 audience members and around $2,000 in profit, which was reinvested in the company to produce a second season the following year. In the years to come, the Festival would grow tremendously, and now plays to an estimated audience of 150,000 and has an operational budget of $5 million.
The Adams Shakespearean Theatre was constructed on the University campus, and was completed in 1977. It is world-renowned for its accuracy in duplicating Shakespeare's Globe: the BBC used it as a filming location in 1981 for a documentary series on Shakespeare. The modern Randall L. Jones Theatre was completed for the 1989 season. Plans for a third theatre are being developed; it is expected to be a black box space, and will feature modern plays by living dramatists. The new theatre is part of the master-planned Utah Shakespearean Festival Centre for the Performing Arts, which will house a Renaissance study center, restaurants, pubs, and support facilities. It is expected to be completed within 10 years.
External link
- The Festival's website (http://www.bard.org/)