Here - Freewill Shakespeare Festival

ANNUAL REPORT 2015
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Freewill Shakespeare Festival annual report 2015
Artistic Director’s Report
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Managing Director’s Report
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Words from the Chair
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Festival Administration 8
Sponsors & Partners
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Company of Artists 2015
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Artistic & Production
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Productions 2015
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Young Company & Volunteers
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Special Events
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Fundraising
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Community Outreach
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History & Mandate
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618-7 Sir Winston Churchill Square Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 2V5 | 780.425.8086 | [email protected]
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artistic directors report
Wow! What a joy it was to return to the Hawrelak Park Amphitheatre in 2015!
After having to move indoors in 2014, we pushed forward with hope, worked
hard at fundraising, got emergency funding from The City and the Edmonton
Arts Council, bravely put one foot in front of the other and got back to
producing two mainstage shows at the Park for our 27th season. We made a
conscious effort to re-hire those we had to let go in 2014, engaged many new
artists and designers, invited Theatre Garage to be our new Head of Wardrobe,
re-programmed Coriolanus, chose one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies,
As You Like it, to compliment our tragedy, and eagerly jumped back in the
saddle to rehearse at the U of A.
The warm and dry weather conditions couldn’t have been better once we
arrived at the amphitheatre. Cadence Konopaki our Managing Director,
hired motivated and talented staff members to manage the Top of the Hill,
and initiated many exciting events that occurred in the Sponsor Tent. We
opened the gates much earlier to encourage audience members to take part
in these events, and to spend more money on food, drink and merchandise.
Almost every night the Sponsor Tent teemed with enthusiastic patrons who
watched puppet shows, learned about what happens ‘Behind the Seams’ in
the costume shop, participated in Tweet-ups, Bard B Ques and much more.
During the winter, Julie Haddow was hired to be our Development Manager.
After three spectacular years serving as our Managing Director, Cadence
Konopaki decided to move on. Our sadness at losing her was profound, but
somehow easier to bear, because Julie interviewed for the job and won hands
down. Confident we had chosen a fantastic replacement, and having both Julie
and Cadence onboard all summer, the transition from one MD to another was
seamless and stress free.
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our artists, production team,
publicist Andrew Paul, our wonderful volunteers, our dedicated board members,
and each and every one of our generous donors and patrons for helping us
to return to our regular programming. It’s clear that Edmonton wants us
to continue to provide them with excellent and innovative productions by
the world’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare. And especially in the
outdoors!
I look forward to Season 28 down at the Park. See you there!
Marianne Copithorne,
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Artistic Director
managing directors report
This year we were excited to be back in Hawrelak Park and were happy to see
so many of our patrons return! We were blessed with a dry, hot (sometimes too
hot), mosquito free run. After last summer inside, we were thrilled this year to
be fighting the elements, outsmarting the squirrels and back under the big tent.
It has been a year of change and growth, we added extra ticketed special events,
an Audience/Development position and said good-bye to Cadence Konopaki as
our Managing Director. I was honoured to have a chance to work with Cadence
this summer, her passion and commitment was inspiring to me.
Our new special events, which included a sold out Date Night and Tapping
of the Cask Event, added a fun extra element to the Festival that we plan to
grow and add on to. The Thou Art Here 15 minute Puppet show of As You
Like it was extremely well received by adults and children alike. David’s Tea
and Starbucks joined us on different days to offer samples and cups of ice tea
all of which helped enhance the Festival atmosphere.
It was great this year to be able to develop relationships with new sponsors
ATCO Gas and Daytona Homes as well as strengthen our relationships
with long time sponsors. We will, with our new Development Coordinator
position, continue to look for long term sponsors to help us strengthen and
support the Festival
I look forward as the new Managing Director to continue growing and
developing this iconic Festival. We have an amazing team here at Freewill
Shakespeare Festival and I am very excited to be a part of it.
Julie Haddow,
Managing Director
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words from the chair
I was honoured to be appointed chair of the freewill Shakespeare board.
However, now that I realise that being chair means more responsibilities such
as writing one of these, I may not have been so eager to accept the position.
How do I write this? We will be lucky if this doesn’t have a few swear words
in it. There are so many people to thank and our year was so amazing that
I don’t want to miss anything in this report. Considering we are a summer
festival, we are an organization that runs all year round. To research writing this, I looked back at our other annual reports to read what
our previous chair had written. It’s very strange not to see Kevin Mott’s face in
this very spot in which he has written the chair report. When Kevin stepped
down from the chair position, I knew I had big shoes to fill. ( I have lots of
shoes, so this wasn’t going to be the problem) Kevin is such a main stay and
contributor the festival. I could write a whole page of how Kevin has inspired
me however, I’ll keep it short and say Thank you Kevin for your commitment
to Freewill and I’ll buy us a round.
The live squirrels at the park welcomed us back to Hawrelak park under the
Amphitheatre tent with our shiny new roof. After being temporarily located at
Myer Horowitz, last summer, we returned this year to the park and returned to
two shows. For the first time, we presented Coriolanus. Our companion piece
was As You Like It. We welcomed newcomers to our stage such as Andrew
MacDonald smith, welcomed back dear friends like John Ullyatt and welcomed
back our stalwart anchors like Troy O’donnell. To the production team I always
think if you’re doing your job, nobody knows you’re there. So to the production
team; thanks for your invisible act.
I don’t know what deal Marianne Copithorne ( our intrepid AD) has with the
devil or if she is able to séance the spirit of William Shakespeare. But every
summer, she astounds me with the vision and freshness she brings to the works
of Shakespeare.
The success of our festival relies on our volunteers both at the festival and
at the board level. I am humbled by their commitment and professionalism.
I am never more proud of the dedication of our volunteers. Money is important and without it we cannot function. We had some new
fundraisers such as Blow the Roof Off and Shakesbeere pub night. Blow the
roof off was a fundraiser to celebrate our return to the park. At the same time,
the unfortunate events at Roxy Theatre occurred. When we were faced with
finding a new venue for 2014, Theatre Network was one of the first companies
to offer help. As a show of solidarity to a friend in need, we donated half of our
profits of that night to TN.
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We also had some engaging on site events such as Behind the Seams and Date
Night. Our cornerstone fundraiser brunch of love was a lovely event. It will be
returning next February and I hope you all have your tickets already. I can’t say enough about our sponsoring partners. From the government
agencies to the local businesses to the individual contributors, you allow us
to do bring this festival to Edmonton and thus help Edmonton to thrive as a
cultural hot spot.
We were saddened to accept departure of Cadence Konopaki as our managing
director. The growth of the festival in her 2 years was a testament to the vision
she had for the company. Her contributions will always be part of the festival
because we all bought the underwear and the stuffed squirrels. We wish her all
the best in her new adventures overseas. Co-in habitants of the trailer while she
ran the festival and I helped with box office are some of my fondest memories.
We welcomed Julie Haddow to the position. Prior to her appointment as
managing director, she was our development co-ordinator. I look forward to
seeing what she has in store for us. We’ve already been witness to the brilliance
and foresight she will bring to the festival.
Damn, I did it. See you all at the Park.
Sue Quon, Chair
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festival administration
ADMINISTRATION
Artistic Director
Marianne Copithorne
Managing Director
Cadence Konopaki
Development Manager
Julie Haddow
Administrative Assistant
Paula Blanco Longa
Assistant Managing Director
Publicist
Vice Chair
Andrew Paul
Alan Humphries
Festival Photographer
Secretary
Lucas Boutilier/Naked Rain Creative
Erin Will
Admin Assistant - Intern
Treasurer
Madeleine Stout
Michelle Docking
Outreach Assistant - Intern
Bil Chinn
Karlie Christie
Catherine Lee Jevic
Admin Assistant - Intern
Jessica Glover
Kate Kozakiewicz
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Operations Coordinator
Chair
Nikola Tonn
Sue Quon
Kevin Mott
Mary-Ellen Perley
Ashley Therberge
Artistic Associates
Tracey Byrne
John Kirkpatrick
Troy O’Donnell
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sponsors & partners
The kind support of the following organizations and businesses has
made the Freewill Shakespeare Festival a continuing success.
PUBLIC FUNDERS
PLATINUM SPONSOR
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Alberta Foundation for the Arts
ATCO Gas
Citadel Theatre
Government of Alberta
Alberta Lottery Fund
City of Edmonton
Edmonton Arts Council
Government of Canada
Edmonton Community Foundation
MEDIA SPONSORS
Global TV
Avenue Magazine
CKUA
COMMUNTY PROGRAM
SPONSORS
STUDENT SUNDAYS
Servus Credit Union
YOUNG COMPANY
RBC ‘Emerging Artist Project’
GOLD SPONSORS
Chianti’s
McCallum
Vision Creative
SILVER SPONSORS
Alley Kat
JCI Edmonton
Theatre Garage
VinoMania
Daytona Homes
Bishop & McKenzie Law
BRONZE SPONSORS
Dandy
Edmonton Opera
Fava
Rapid Fire Theatre
Starbuck’s Coffee
David’s Tea
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
PARTNERS
Hole’s Greenhouse
Panago Pizza
Sherlock Hospitality
Telus World of Science
Ukrainian Village
Walterdale Theatre
River City Event Rentals
OPENING NIGHT
SPONSORS
SOTV
New Asian Village
VinoMania
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company of artist 2015
AS YOU LIKE IT
CORIOLANUS
Directed by
Directed by
Marianne Copithorne
Jim Guedo
Dramatis Personae
Dramatis Personae
Duke Senior
Robert Benz
Duke Frederick,
Hymen
John Ullyatt
Le Beau
Jesse Gervais
Nathan Cuckow
Robert Benz Menenius,
Charles,
Corin,Chorus
Jaques de Boys
Jesse Gervais Lartius
Touchstone
Farren Timoteo Sicinius,
Chorus
Oliver
Andrew MacDonald Smith
Orlando
Ashley Wright
Jaques
Troy O’Donnell
Adam,
Oliver Martext
Ryan Parker
Mary Hulbert Virgilia
Belinda Cornish Volumnia
Ryan Parker
Brutus,
Chorus24
Nathan Cuckow Aufidius
Ashley Wright Cominius
Nicholas Rose
Amiens,
William
Nancy MacAlear Valeria,
Chorus
Farren Timoteo
Silvius,
Hugh, Charles’ Coach
Andrew MacDonald Smith Chorus
Troy O’Donnell Chorus
Mary Hulbert
Rosalind
Kevin Sutley Chorus
Belinda Cornish
Celia
Nick Rose
Chorus
Morgan Donald
Chorus
Nancy MacAlear
Kemble,
Phebe
Morgan Donald
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John Ullyatt Caius,
Coriolanus
Kevin Sutley
Audrey
artistic & production
ARTISTIC
PRODUCTION
Director, Coriolanus
Festival Production Manager
Carpenters
Jim Guedo
Tiana Tolley
Nick Rose
Serge Menard
Director, As You Like It
Assistant Production Manager
Marianne Copithorne
Matt Koyata
Richard Green
Props Master
Festival Set & Props Designer
Stage Manager, Coriolanus
Megan Koshka
Candice Charney
Jacy Maxwell
Stitcher
Festival Costume Designer
Stage Manager, As You Like It
Christa Gelasco
Hannah Matiachuk
Gil Miciak
Kathryn Neuman
Festival Lighting Designer
Assistant Stage Manager
Jr. Stitcher
Scott Peters
Molly Pearson
Destiny McClaflin
Head of Wardrobe
Head Painter
Jr. Stitcher - Intern
Christy Hutchison
Angie Sotirpoulos
April Ouimet
Sound Designer, Coriolanus
Head of Electronics
Dresser - Intern
Jim Guedo
Larissa O’Hare
Rachel Koski
Composer/Sound Designer,
As You Like It
Head Carpenter
Production Intern
Chris Hayes
Selina Galm
Stage Carpenter
Jr. Scenic Carpenter - Intern
Chris Chelich
Mikael Gustafsson
Nyssa Beairsto Assistant Stage Manager
Nicholas Rose Actor
Kelsi Kalmer Wardrobe Apprentice
Morgan Donald Actor
Brittney Hubley Site Coordinator
Allison Robinson Production Assistant
Matthew Skopyk
Fight Choreographer
Patrick Howarth
Dialect Coach, As You Like It
Christine MacInnis
young company
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productions 2015
as you like it
Marianne Copithorne’s directorial concept was to
set the play in the early 1920’s, borrowing from
Downton Abbey in fashion and style. Duke Frederick and his loyal friends are banished from his
estate in England and flee to the Forest of Arden.
Lessons learned there, help those from court to
return to their lives wiser, happier and more
spiritually enriched.
Ganymede in khaki pants, sporty shirt and vest,
and jaunty cap. Those banished from court
abandoned suits and ties for more comfortable
apparel, and country folk gadded about in gentle
pastels and earthy tones. Celia opted for a very
impractical and absolutely beautiful white lace
dress. Touchstone remained constantly dapper in a
suit bedabbled with motley gold and brass buttons.
Set designer Meghan Koshka created a two storey
villa with arches for the English Court, and
covered it in luscious vines. In the Forest of Arden,
live trees and bushes flourished on stage, creating
a quaint countryside. Lighting designer Scott Peters
shone colorful lights on branches and created warm
yellow light to compliment the sunlight Mother
Nature provided. As dusk arrived, the stage became
a rainbow of warm summer colors, shimmering on
the leaves of the trees and the villa wall of vines.
Mary Hulbert’s clever transformation from Rosalind
to Ganymede was delightful and heart warming.
Farren Timoteo’s love sick Silvius was hilarious next
to Nancy MacAlear’s defiant and equally amusing
Phebe. Ryan Parker won applause nightly for his
excellent cane lazzi and his witty interpretation
of Touchstone.
Hannah Matiachuk’s costumes reflected the lavish
and respectable status of the English Court. As the
action shifted to the forest, Rosalind doffed her
beautiful gown and disguised herself as
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productions 2015
coriolanus
Jim Guedo envisioned Coriolanus as a true ensemble piece, with a central chorus playing soldiers,
senators, Volscan and Roman soldiers, rebels and
citizens. In a postmodern world that calls itself
Rome, the city is at a breaking point, and food
shortages create mass rebellion. Coriolanus has
proved himself a great soldier and Rome’s hero,
but his self centred, inflexible beliefs cause him
to hold his people in contempt, and they revolt
in a bloody riot. Powerful politicians undermine
him, and, banished from Rome, he joins with his
most hated enemy, Tullus Aufidius, to destroy it.
Coriolanus’ mother Volumnia has raised her son
to be a war machine, but must now convince him
to show mercy. When Coriolanus bows to his
mother’s will, Aufidius assassinates him.
Megan Koshka’s set design for Coriolanus proved to
be a distinct change from the unthreatening world
of As You Like It. The warm vine lattice-work was
removed from the two storey arches to reveal a cold
and stony surface that included a rock-climbing
wall. Benches on knife-tracks swivelled and swerved
to create battle grounds and political ‘platforms’.
Scott Peters’ lights enhanced violent battles with
hues of hellish red that turned whorls of fog into
blood bathed steam. Coriolanus’ nemesis Aufidius
lurked in eerie shadows in the arches above.
Hannah Matiachuk’s costume design provided a
strong base costume for the chorus, who morphed
from Roman soldiers to Volscans, and from citizens
to rebels: doffing berets for sunglasses, and capes
for military garb. Coriolanus and Aufidius were
uniformed in leather vests and studded jackets,
transforming the two leading warriors into soldiers
of death.
John Ullyatt’s portrayal of Coriolanus featured a
fearless and unstoppable warrior who bowed to no
one but his manipulative and stone hearted mother.
Belinda Cornish portrayed Volumnia as a stunningly
beautiful and ambitiously driven matriarch with
a backbone of steel. Nathan Cuckow’s Aufidius
revealed a cunning warrior operating with strategic
patience, just waiting for the right moment to
bring his nemesis down.
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young company & volunteers
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YOUNG COMPANY
VOLUNTEERS
The FSF is extremely pleased with the development
and direction of the Young Company and will
continue the program at the current number of
participants or as close to these numbers as possible, and aim to further these training and development possibilities. These kinds of mentorship
opportunities are very rare, valued, and sought out
by returning theatre arts students.
The FSF has a dedicated core group of volunteers
that make the Festival a part of their summer plans.
The 2015 FSF is indebted to approximately 180
volunteers (35 in 2014) who donated almost 4000
hours to the Festival. Included in these numbers is
the unheralded work of the Board of Directors of
the FSF who spend hundreds of hours of volunteer
time, ensuring the continued success of the Festival.
The FSF Young Company Program enables returning
conservatory theatre arts students a chance to learn and
gain experience in a fully professional enviroment.
In 2015, the FSF enabled two student actors:
Nicholas Donald Rose and Morgan Donald – as
well as one apprentice stage manager, Nyssa Bearisto,
a Wardrobe Assistant, Kelsi Kalmer, Allison Robinson,
a Production Assistant, and Brittany Hubley, Site
Co-ordinator – from the University of Alberta’s
Drama Department, and The Grant MacEwan
Theatre Department, to fully participate in
challenging roles in both productions. They were
all remunerated appropriately.
The FSF advertises for new volunteers every year
and is always welcoming new additions to the FSF
family. This year we had an amazing response to
our call for volunteers with over 180 people coming
forward, many were returning but we were also
happy to add new volunteers.
special events
During the 2015 Festival we had 3 ticketed internal
special events, 5 non ticketed internal events and 6
private external events - the events brought in over
600 people to the Festival. Due to opening an extra
hour and a half earlier for these special events were
were able to increase our bar sales considerably.
This years events included:
Opening Nights Galas
Pre-show by invitation only catered events
Bard B-Que
Hosted by the Board, this is an event that is bid
on at the Brunch Of Love
Canada Day Activities
Opened grounds and special event tent 3 hours
early
Date Night
Sold Out ticketed event included appetizers,
a classical guitarist and draws
Alley Kat Cask Night
Sold Out ticketed event at which Alley Kat created
an exclusive Cask for the evening
Behind the Seams
This ticketed event included a Q & A with our
Head of Wardrobe, a display of past costumes and
appetizers
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fundraising
This year we introduced two new Fundraising
Events to our season, the Blow the roof off event,
which helped raise money for our Festival as well
as shared the profits with the Roxy Theatre, and
the Shakespeare Pub Night. The FSF team works
hard in its fundraising efforts during the Festival
and throughout the year. In February we once again
hosted the popular Brunch of Love and in May
we held our successful annual donor drive. We are
fortunate to have wonderful volunteers that run our
raffles, organize events, participate in events and
advocate on our behalf all year long.
Shakesbeere Pub Night:
Blow the roof off:
On-site Raffle:
On January 17, 2015, the FSF team organized a
fundraising event to celebrate the relaunch of the
Festival to the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawerlak
Park. For $25.00 a ticket, the audiences witnessed
an evening of entertainment at C103 building that
included a poetry slam, courtesy of Edmonton’s
poetry brothel. It continued with a benefit concert
by the Festival’s own singer songwriter Cayley
Thomas. The evening ended with a DJ set featuring
DJbhostguster.
Devastated to learn of the demise of the Roxy
Theatre by a fire, as an act of solidarity with our
theatre colleagues and friends, we decided to share
half of our proceeds to Theatre Network.
The Brunch of Love:
The FSF 2015 Brunch of Love Annual fundraiser
was held February 8, 2015 at the stunning Ballroom
of the Mayfair Golf Club. Due to increasing numbers
we found it necessary to move our event from its
previous location at the Fairmont Macdonald hotel
to this larger venue.
The FSF board worked tirelessly to secure donations,
sell tickets, and promote our fundraising event to
the community. Entertainment provided by the upand-coming young theatre troupe Thou Art Here,
the fabulous buffet, and the fun photo booth all
helped to make the Brunch an event to remember.
The 2015 Brunch of Love was a great success and
with ticket sales, donations and popular auction
items we were able to meet our budgeted target.
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On Sept 24, 2015, the FSF team organized its first
Shakesbeere Pub Night at Sherlock Holmes Pub on
Campus. Sherlock Holmes donated a draft to each
guest and we had appetizers for the 45 people who
came to enjoy. We sold the tickets on Eventbrite in
advance for $20 and at the door for $25 every guest
received a free signed cast poster from this year’s
production. Hosting the event close to the U of A
campus and keeping the ticket price low we hoped
to encourage the large number of Festival student
patrons to attend.
Every summer the FSF holds a fundraising raffle in
conjunction with the Festival. Due to the success
of the 50/50 draw in 2014 we continued with this
format in 2015. Just under $5000 was raised in
raffle proceeds throughout the Festival. Similarly
to last year, one of the unexpected favourable perks
of the 50/50 was the handful of winners that very
generously opted to donate all or part of their
winnings back to the Festival after being notified
of their winning number.
Battle for the Limelight:
This year we were excited to have three awesome
teams competing in Northern Light Theatre’s
Fundraising Battle. They completed 11 challenges
on 124th street including drinking hot BBQ Sauce
at Smokehouse BBQ, dressing up in costume at
Redemption Boutique, sweating at be Hot Yoga
or Studio 124 Pilates, looking for that perfect eye
matching handbag at Miss Boss or the right bunny
at the Clever Rabbit, eating a dog treat from Food
Dish Wishes, solving riddles at Bling and Listen
Records and testing their artistic know all at the
Bearclaw Gallery and Frog Kisser’s Den. The teams,
one volunteer led, one staff led and one Board
member led, collected over $1500 in pledges.
community outreach
SERVUS Student Sundays
Puppet Show
Over 900 students took advantage of the offer of
free admission to any Sunday show during the 2015
Festival, this is our best returns to date. This year
the campaign was carried out on 400 printed posters.
Posters that promoted “Free admission to any
Sunday performance with valid Student ID” were
distributed to Edmonton-area junior and senior
high schools, colleges, the U of A, Edmonton Public
Library and The City of Edmonton. An affordable
distribution service was hired to poster local youth
hotspots, and SERVUS distributed their own handbills within their branches and to youth programs
they had connections with.
Partnered with Thou Art Here to produce a 15
minute puppet show of As You Like It to help a
younger audience (and even the adults) understand
what they were going to be seeing. The shows took
place every Saturday before the matinee and twice
on Canada Day. The tent was always full as people
of all ages enjoyed the show.
Farmer’s Market booth
In 2015, FSF had booths at 10 Farmers Markets throughout the city and St. Albert starting early June and into
July, at 6 of the markets Thou Art Here performed a skit
of As You Like It. Their objective was to talk to people,
give them handbills, answer questions and engage them.
David’s Tea
Attended two performances where they handed out
tea samples and coupons for free tea, this really
added to the Festival atmosphere, they also donated
gift bags to several events
Freewill Tweet up and Tweet up with Rapid Fire
Partnered with a SCIP student who planned a
Tweet up event on behalf of Freewill and worked
with Rapid Fire on an appreciation night for their
volunteers that included a Tweet Up portion for us.
We had a photo booth donated by Theatre Garage,
prizes, food and a Tweeter Board encouraging
guests to send out Tweets about the Festival.
Corporate & Private Events
Regency Event, Friendship Force, Bishop & McKenzie
held receptions pre show in the Special Event tent.
Starbucks
Attended our Pay What You Will performances and
offered Ice Tea for a donation to the Festival - this
was very well received by the audience. Starbucks
also donated items to special events and snacks for
our volunteers.
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history & mandate
FREE WILL PLAYERS /
FREEWILL SHAKESPEARE
FESTIVAL MANDATE
To explore and produce the works
of William Shakespeare in an
outdoor setting as interpreted by
an ensemble of Canadian actors,
directors and designers.
To illuminate in a bold, modern way
the humanity of Shakespeare and
explore the relevance of his themes
for contemporary audiences.
To provide further investigation ­
of Shakespeare’s world and his
impact on present day theatre
and dramatic thought.
To inspire young artists in further
enjoyment of Shakespeare.
To remain financially accessible to
all, regardless of financial situation.
Freewill Players was formed in 1989 by a group of actors in a truly
co-operative, pass-the-hat spirit with the mandate to produce the
works of William Shakespeare. In 1998, Freewill Players expanded to
produce The Freewill Shakespeare Festival, an event designed to satisfy
growing audience numbers and the Festival’s goal of creating a truly
remarkable celebration of Shakespeare for Edmonton. The Festival
consists of two fully realized Shakespearean productions that run in
repertory over four weeks from late June to late July. The 2006 Summer
Season saw over 17,000 people clamour for Shakespeare, making it the
most successful season to date.
The company established a permanent paid administration in 1999
with the hiring of a General Manager, the Artistic Director position
followed in 2000. The Festival employs a full complement of 42
people at the height of the Festival, including actors, designers, Stage
Managers, Production Manager, Administrative Assistant, Publicist,
Technical Director, Site/Volunteer Coordinator, etc. 40% of the
Players’ yearly budget goes to artists’ fees.
Freewill Players / The Freewill Shakespeare Festival has been nominated
for numerous Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards for excellence in
Edmonton theatre: Chris Bullough received the award for Outstanding
Actor for his performance as the tragic title character in the 2008
production of Richard III, Nadien Chu received the award for Best
Supporting Actress in the 2010 production of Titus Andronicus and in
2014 Narda McCarroll was nominated for her costume design in the
2013 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
2015 Coriolanus
As You Like It
2007 Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Winter’s Tale
1999 Macbeth
Two Gentleman of Verona
2014 The Taming of the Shrew
2006Hamlet
The Taming of The Shrew
1998 Julius Caesar
The Comedy of Errors
2005 Romeo and Juliet
Love’s Labour’s Lost
1997 Twelfth Night
2013 King Lear
Midsummer’s Night Dream
2012 The Tempest
Julius Caesar
2011 Othello
Twelfth Night
2010 Much Ado About Nothing
Macbeth
2009 Comedy of Errors
Titus Andronicus
2008 As You Like It
Richard III
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2004 Twelfth Night
The Merchant of Venice
2003 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Henry V
2002 The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Tempest
1996 The Taming of The Shrew
1995 As You Like It
1994 Romeo and Juliet
1993 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
1992 Much Ado About Nothing
2001 Richard III
As You Like It
1991 Love’s Labour’s Lost
2000 King Lear
Much Ado About Nothing
1989 The Comedy of Errors
1990 Twelfth Night
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