The Baltimore Shakespeare Festival: Difference between revisions

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The Baltimore Shakespeare Festival was a small nonprofit theatre that produced plays by or about Shakespeare in Baltimore, Maryland. It also had an educational program that introduced school children to Shakespeare.

History

The first production of BSF was A Midsummer Night's Dream which was performed at the Cloisters in Brooklandville, Maryland in 1994. The company was founded by Kelley Dunn-Feliz and Richard Feliz that same year. In its early years, the Festival often faced financial instability, but was able to persevere thanks to the hard work, dedication and forward thinking of the Board of Directors -- one of the strengths of the festival.

BSF's home was established at the St. Mary's Community Center in Hampden. In the church space, an Elizabethan-style stage was designed and constructed.

the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival closed its doors for good in 2011. By 2011, the $1,000,000 endowment that was made in 2007 by an individual donor had been drained and they were forced to shut dow. The company did not maintain any archives.

The highlight of the BSF year was a Shakespeare production performed entirely by children. The Teen Performance Program began in 2003 with a production of Macbeth followed by 2004's production of Love's Labor's Lost, 2005's production of Hamlet, 2006's production of Much Ado About Nothing and 2007's The Comedy of Errors. In 2008, BSF explored The Tempest through the lens of a high school. Teens from around the Baltimore area come together to work in a semi-professional theatrical process. The teens' outstanding performances are inspired by such outstanding teacher/directors as Tony Tsendeas (Macbeth and Hamlet), Lewis Shaw (Love's Labour's Lost), Joan Weber (Much Ado About Nothing), Ian Bellknap (Comedy of Errors) and Courtney Weber (The Tempest).

Artistic directors

1993-1997 Kelly Dunn Feliz
1997-2000 Christopher Marino
2000-2008 James Kinstle
2008-2011 Michael Carleton

Production history

1994

A Midsummer Night's Dream

1995

Romeo and Juliet

1997

Macbeth

1998

Twelfth Night

2000

Love for Words by Kimberley Lynne - Directed by Tony Tsendeas
I Hate Hamlet - Directed by Joseph Brady

2001

Much Ado About Nothing - Directed by Laura Hackman

2002-03

Cyrano de Bergerac - Directed by Joseph Brady
Hamlet - Directed by Laura Hackman

2003-04

As You Like It - Directed by Laura Hackman
Othello - Directed by Tony Tsendeas
Dickens of a Carol - Directed by Kathy Feininger
- Teen Performance Program: Macbeth - Directed by Tony Tsendeas

2004-05

The Tempest - Directed by Laura Hackman
Julius Caesar - Directed by Tony Tsendeas
Dickens of a Carol - Directed by Kathy Feininger
- Teen Performance Program: Love's Labour's Lost - Directed by Lewis Shaw

2005-06

The Merry Wives of Windsor - Directed by Drew Kahl
Romeo and Juliet - Directed by Pat Diamond
Something Dickens This Way Comes - Directed and written by Kathy Feininger
- Teen Performance Program: Hamlet - Directed by Tony Tsendeas
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Directed by James Kinstle

2006-07

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Directed by Laura Hackman
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged - Directed by Tony Tsendeas
Desdemona, a Play About a Handkerchief by Paula Vogel - Directed by Raine Bode
- Teen Performance Program: Much Ado About Nothing - Directed by Joan Weber
- All's Well That Ends Well - Directed by Donald Hicken

2007-08

Macbeth - Directed by Tony Tsendeas
Antigone by Bertolt Brecht - Directed by Raine Bode
- Teen Performance Program: The Comedy of Errors - Directed by Ian Belker
- A Winter's Tale - Directed by Kathleen Akerley

2008-09

Twelfth Night - Directed by Laura Hackman
The Taming of the Shrew - Directed by Joseph Brady
Every Christmas Story Ever Told! - Directed and written by Michael Carleton
- Teen Performance Program: The Tempest - Directed by Courtney Weber
- Wittenberg - Directed by Tony Tsendeas

2009-10

Hamlet - Adapted and directed by Michael Carleton

References

External links

Baltimore Shakespeare Festival - official site

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@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 BSF's home was established at the St. Mary's Community Center in Hampden. In the church space, an Elizabethan-style stage was designed and constructed.
+the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival closed its doors for good in 2011. By 2011, the $1,000,000 endowment that was made in 2007 by an individual donor had been drained and they were forced to shut dow. The company did not maintain any archives.
-In 2008, the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival announced the hiring of Michael Carleton as the theatre's new Producing Artistic Director. Greeting Mr. Carleton on his arrival was a severe financial crisis left behind by the previous administration. Despite excellent reviews and an overall increase in the quality of the productions, the company struggled to get its footing since the leadership transition, resulting in small audiences and a diminishing presence in the Baltimore theater community.
-the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival closed its doors for good in 2011 due to a financial scandal involving an individual's $1,000,000 donation in 2007 that was intended for an endowment but was instead depleted to pay for regular operating expenses. By 2011, the endowment had been drained and they were forced to close their doors for good.
 The highlight of the BSF year was a Shakespeare production performed entirely by children.  The Teen Performance Program began in 2003 with a production of ''[[Macbeth]]'' followed by 2004's production of ''[[Love's Labor's Lost]]'', 2005's production of ''[[Hamlet]]'', 2006's production of ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' and 2007's ''[[The Comedy of Errors]]''. In 2008, BSF explored ''[[The Tempest]]'' through the lens of a high school. Teens from around the Baltimore area come together to work in a semi-professional theatrical process. The teens' outstanding performances are inspired by such outstanding teacher/directors as Tony Tsendeas (''Macbeth'' and ''Hamlet''), Lewis Shaw (''Love's Labour's Lost''), Joan Weber (''Much Ado About Nothing''), Ian Bellknap (''Comedy of Errors'') and Courtney Weber (''The Tempest'').