Woodward Shakespeare Festival facts for kids
The Woodward Shakespeare Festival is a fun theater group in Fresno, California. Every summer, they put on three plays for everyone to enjoy. These plays include famous works by William Shakespeare and other exciting stories. You can catch their shows from June to September!
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What is the Woodward Shakespeare Festival?
The Woodward Shakespeare Festival is a special group that provides free shows. They have been entertaining people in Fresno for over ten years! All their plays happen on an outdoor stage. You can find this stage at Woodward Park (Fresno).
The festival gets its money from donations. Local businesses and people also help by sponsoring the shows. This helps keep the plays free for everyone.
How Many Plays Do They Perform?
Before 2011, the festival usually put on two plays by Shakespeare each summer. But in 2011, they added a third play! This new play was by a different writer. Lots of people love the festival. More than 10,000 people come to watch the plays every year.
Other Fun Activities
Besides the summer plays, the festival does other cool things. They have "Staged Readings" of plays at the Woodward Park Library. This is where actors read a play aloud.
In 2012, they joined the Fresno Rogue Festival. They performed a funny show about Shakespeare there.
The YES Project for Teens
In 2013, the festival started a new program for young people. It's called The YES Project. This program works with Fresno Pacific University. It's a summer workshop for local teens. For three and a half weeks, teens learn about Shakespeare's style. They also create their own plays based on Shakespeare's ideas.
Festival History
The Woodward Shakespeare Festival first started putting on shows in 2005. S. Eric Day and Brandon Weis had the idea for the theater group. Christien Sweeney also joined them. He and Day led the first two seasons. In 2007, the group became an official non-profit organization. This means they work for the public good.
Past Performances
Here are some of the plays the festival has performed:
- 2005: Much Ado About Nothing & Romeo and Juliet
- 2006: A Midsummer Night's Dream & Macbeth
- 2007: Othello & The Taming of the Shrew
- 2008: Twelfth Night & Hamlet
- 2009: As You Like It & Richard III
- 2010: The Merchant of Venice & King Lear
- 2011: The Comedy of Errors, All My Sons, & Romeo and Juliet
- 2012: The Merry Wives of Windsor, A Streetcar Named Desire, & Henry V
- 2013: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Inherit The Wind, & Julius Caesar
Tenth Anniversary and 2014 Season
The festival celebrated its tenth birthday in 2014! That year, they had three exciting plays. These included Macbeth, directed by Greg Taber. They also performed The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Aaron Spjute. The third play was The Tempest, directed by Julie Ann Keller.
