First Folio Theatre

The First Folio Theatre is a not-for-profit theater company affiliated with the Actors' Equity Association. Founded in 1996, First Folio, originally named First Folio Shakespeare Festival, is located on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, Illinois, USA. First Folio utilizes the "Folio Method" as Developed by Patrick Tucker of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Folio Method employs the text of William Shakespeare’s First Folio to illuminate the textual clues for the actors and the audience.

Dedicated to staging professional productions of Shakespeare and other classics, First Folio stages performances on both their main, outdoor stage designed and built specifically for their productions, and in the formal library of Mayslake Hall. First Folio Summer productions have included: "The Tempest", "A Midsummer Night’s Dream", "The Taming of the Shrew", "Romeo and Juliet", "Much Ado About Nothing", "Macbeth", "As You Like It", "Antigone", "Twelfth Night", "The Comedy of Errors", "Hamlet", and "Richard III".

Since 2005, First Folio performances inside the Mayslake Mansion in the formal library has included productions of: "The Importance of Being Earnest", "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", "Private Lives", "The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story", "Angel Street", "Jeeves Intervenes", and "Driving Miss Daisy".

Along with their formal stagings, First Folio also offers four educational touring shows and an artist-in-residence program. The four touring shows range from "Master Shakespeare and His Stories" (a compilation of Shakespeare's best known plays), designed for grade-school aged children, to "The Fifty Minute Romeo and Juliet", geared toward high school students. First Folio has given over 250 performances during their tenure, and is included in the Illinois Arts Council's Arts Tour Roster, and was chosen as the Artists-in-Residence for the Quad Cities Arts Program for two weeks in November of 2006.

Mission Statement

First Folio's Mission Statement as quoted from their website: :Our mission is to provide high quality professional productions of Shakespeare and other classics, while enhancing the cultural activities at Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, and creating awareness of this historic site. :Our mission emphasizes a training initiative for young theatre artists, as well as educational touring productions, that provide a living counterpoint to school literature programs.

Awards and Local Recognition

First Folio has been "Recommended" seven times by the Committee for the Joseph Jefferson Awards and has been Jeff Nominated for: Best Actor, "Richard III"; Best Supporting Actor "The Importance of Being Earnest"; Best Actor, "Private Lives"; and, Best New Adaptation, "The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story"; Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Music, "Dream"..

Past Performances

2008

*"Jeeves Intervenes"
*"Driving Miss Daisy"
*Much Ado About Nothing

2007

*"Angel Street"
*"Richard III"
*"The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story"

2006

*"Private Lives"
*"The Tempest"
*"The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story"

2005

*"The Importance of Being Earnest"
*"The Taming of the Shrew"
*"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"

2004

*"Hamlet"
*"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

2003

*"The Comedy of Errors"

2002

*"Antigone"
*"Twelfth Night"

2001

*"Macbeth"
*"As You Like It"

2000

*"Romeo and Juliet"
*"Much Ado About Nothing"

1999

*"The Taming of the Shrew"

1998

*"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

1997

*"The Tempest"

External links

* [http://www.firstfolio.org/ Official Home Page]