Southern Shakespeare Festival
Encyclopedia
The Southern Shakespeare Festival was an annual event held in Tallahassee
, Florida
, USA.
Senior, Michael J. Trout organized a touring company, directed and written by David Klein. "Words...Words...Words... and Evening of Shakespeare" tour local theaters, regional high schools and community arts centers. Trout then approached Florida State University Dean Emeritus Richard G. Fallon
for help to establish a free Shakespeare in the park festival modeled after Joe Papp free Shakespeare-in-the-park. The free festival and renaissance faire ran from that 1995-2000 it was an open air free festival and renaissance
fare located in downtown behind Tallahassee's City Hall in Kleman Plaza.
Its inaugural Free Shakespeare-in-the-park production in 1996, A Midsummer's Nights Dream, directed by Russian director Irina Brown, saw over 30,000 spectators according to the local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat (Sunday, December 29 article) (Inaugural Playbill). It is recognized as one of the most successful free theater festivals in Tallahassee with over 80,000 spectators and over 20,000 students benefited from its educational programming.
, Florida State University
, and Tallahassee Community College
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, USA.
History
The Southern Shakespeare Festival began in 1995 when Florida State UniversityFlorida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
Senior, Michael J. Trout organized a touring company, directed and written by David Klein. "Words...Words...Words... and Evening of Shakespeare" tour local theaters, regional high schools and community arts centers. Trout then approached Florida State University Dean Emeritus Richard G. Fallon
Richard G. Fallon
Richard G. Fallon is Dean Emeritus of The School of Theatre at Florida State University.He came to Tallahassee in 1956 and has been active in theatre community ever since. Dr. Fallon is a Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, a recipient of the Florida Governor's Award for the Arts, the...
for help to establish a free Shakespeare in the park festival modeled after Joe Papp free Shakespeare-in-the-park. The free festival and renaissance faire ran from that 1995-2000 it was an open air free festival and renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
fare located in downtown behind Tallahassee's City Hall in Kleman Plaza.
Its inaugural Free Shakespeare-in-the-park production in 1996, A Midsummer's Nights Dream, directed by Russian director Irina Brown, saw over 30,000 spectators according to the local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat (Sunday, December 29 article) (Inaugural Playbill). It is recognized as one of the most successful free theater festivals in Tallahassee with over 80,000 spectators and over 20,000 students benefited from its educational programming.
Productions
- 1995 Southern Shakespeare Festival Touring Company. Words... word... words... Written and Directed by David KleinDavid KleinDavid Klein is the name of:* David Klein , American artist* David Klein , former governor of the Bank of Israel...
- 1996 A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
– Directed By Irina Brown, and starring UK actor Jack Klaff, Wil JohnsonWil JohnsonWilbert "Wil" Johnson is an English actor, who has had notable television roles in Waking the Dead and Babyfather, and on stage in Othello.- Early life :...
and US actress Jennifer Harper. - 1997 The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
– Directed by Ian Wooldridge, starring Wil Johnson and Brigid Zengeni. - 1998 As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
- 1999 Merry Wives of Windsor
- 2000 The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
(last production)
Media articles include
- ..Rise to Southern Shakespeare Festival– Montgomery AdvertiserMontgomery AdvertiserThe Montgomery Advertiser is a daily newspaper located in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1829.- History:The newspaper began publication in 1829 as The Planter's Gazette. It became the Montgomery Advertiser in 1833. In 1903, R.F. Hudson, a young Alabama newspaperman, joined the staff of the...
, Sunday Nov. 22, 1998 - Top 10 in Tallahassee - Tallahassee DemocratTallahassee DemocratThe Tallahassee Democrat is a daily broadsheet newspaper. It covers the area centered around Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, as well as adjacent Gadsden County, Jefferson County, and Wakulla County...
, Sunday, December 29 article - Shrew - Tallahassee Democrat Limelight Feature - Friday, May 9, 1997
- Relationship Advice from Ol`Will - Break Magazine - May 7-13, 1997
Producers included
City of Tallahassee, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Leon County Tourist Development Council, Florida A&M UniversityFlorida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU, is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, the state capital, and is one of eleven member institutions of the State University System of Florida...
, Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, and Tallahassee Community College
Tallahassee Community College
Tallahassee Community College is a community college, located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. The institution was founded in 1966 by the Florida Legislature. The college is a member of the Florida College System....
Founding Board Members included
Richard G. Fallon, Dean Minardi, June Strauss, Michael J. Trout, Tina Campbell, Janet Hinkle, Sue Dick,External links
- Official Facebook fan site