Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is a critically acclaimed, regional, nonprofit theater company that performs at Boscobel in Garrison, NY. It produces classic works with an economy of style, focusing on script, actors and audience with the Hudson River and Hudson Highlands as its set and setting. "The New York Times" has commented on the Festival, "If anyone wonders about the future of live theater or asks where the audience is, the answer is 'Under that tent."

History

The Festival began with a modest performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 1987. The first production served as a fundraiser for Manitoga, the Garrison home of industrial designer Russell Wright, and was produced by Melissa Stern in cooperation with the Twenty-Ninth Street Project, and directed by Terrence O’Brien.The show so enchanted those who saw it, including the late actress Helen Hayes, that a group of fans gathered and became the Festival’s organizing committee. The group grew in size and helped see the organization through applying for non-profit status and incorporation. The following year, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival was born.

The Festival now performs at Boscobel, a Hudson River estate in Garrison, NY. 30,000 audience members annually travel from throughout the tri-state area, including neighboring New York City, to enjoy the spare, clear and compelling performances. Critics from such publications as "The New York Times", "The Wall Street Journal", and "The Journal News" regularly review the Festival’s productions.

Education Programs

In addition to its summer productions, the Festival sponsors year-round education programs that reach over 18,000 students annually from elementary school through college. These programs include Access-Shakespeare, a fully staged touring production; Shakespeare Students on Stage, and Free Will, an artists-in-residence program; and the Teaching Shakespeare Summer Institute. In addition, the Festival runs a summer Apprentice Program for a select group of college-age actors who are seriously committed to learning the craft of theater.

Artistic Director

Terrence O’Brien

Executive Director

Susan Landstreet

2008 Season

"Cymbeline" June 10 - August 30, 2008Directed by Terrence O'Brien

"Twelfth Night"June 18 - August 31, 2008Directed by John Christian Plummer

"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" July 22 - September 7, 2008Directed by Terrence O'Brien

Links

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival website [http://www.hvshakespeare.org]