Texas Shakespeare Festival

The Texas Shakespeare Festival is a professional summer theatre housed in the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Center on the campus of Kilgore College, Kilgore, Texas. TSF presents four weeks of performances during late June and July of five productions in repertory: two plays by Shakespeare, a classic, a musical, and a children's show.

History

Established in 1986, the Texas Shakespeare Festival began as Kilgore College's contribution to the Texas Sesquicentennial celebration. The brainchild of Raymond Caldwell, a faculty member within the theatre program at Kilgore College and subsequent Artistic Director of the Festival,Cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/theater/newsandfeatures/05calh.html|title=Don't Mess with Shakespeare|accessdate=2008-02-22|year=2005-06-05|author=Ada Calhoun|work=The New York Times] the first season of TSF consisted of two plays by Shakespeare and the "The Daisy Bradford 3", a regional work commissioned for the celebration telling the story of the East Texas oil boom by Gifford Wingate, all performed by a small company of professional actors. The overwhelming popularity and quality of the summer theatre experience for the people of East Texas catapulted what was to have been a one-time event into an organization that is celebrating its second decade of performances.

Productions

In more than twenty years, the Texas Shakespeare Festival has produced twenty-nine plays of Shakespeare’s canon, as well as multiple American and European classics, original works, numerous musicals, and very successful shows for young audiences. Their work with young audience led to them being awarded a grant in 2005 to further support youth activities.Cite web|url=http://www.kilgorenewsherald.com/news/2005/0617/Front_Page/001.html|title=Texas Shakespeare Festival Receives Grant|accessdate=2008-02-22|year=2005-06-17|work=Kilgore News Herald] The Festival continues to audition and employ professional directors, actors, designers, and technicians, as well as giving many university students from all across America their first summer theatre experience. The Festival has attracted a range of attention throughout its more than two-decades of performances. In 1999 a production of "Angels in America" led to death threats, anti-gay protests and a withdrawal of more than $50,000 in funding.

upport

Kilgore College provides the majority of the funding for the Festival, and provides a range of other support for the festival including: rehearsal facilities, office spaces, the Van Cliburn Auditorium, dormitory housing and meals for the entire company, scholarships for the apprentices, printing, publicity and public relations. Additional grants and foundations enable the Texas Shakespeare Festival to continue as a strong and vital cultural asset and tourist attraction for all of East Texas.Cite web|url=http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/02/02022008_kilgore_grant.html|title=KC Auditorium Wishes Granted|accessdate=2008-02-22|year=2008-02-02|author=Randy Ross|work=The Longview News-Journal] The Festival is also credited as bringing a degree of sophistication in the arts world to East Texas. In return, the Festival supports the college with grant funding to help refurbish the auditorium in which it performs.Cite web|url=http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7810024&nav=1TjD|title=Kilgore College Matches $100,000 Grant to Renovate Van Cliburn Auditorium|accessdate=2008-02-22|publisher=KLTV|year=2008-02-01]

References

External links

* [http://www.texasshakespeare.com/ Texas Shakespeare Festival]