Kentucky Shakespeare Presents
“Celebrate 60: the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival Anniversary Production”
LOUISVILLE, KY (September 2, 2020) – Kentucky Shakespeare, the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth, proudly announces the premiere of a new virtual production celebrating the 60th anniversary of the free Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park – Celebrate 60: the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival Anniversary Production. The production, filmed live in Central Park with their 2020 summer company, will premiere Friday, September 25 at 8PM on the Kentucky Shakespeare Facebook page and YouTube Channel.
“With the postponement of our in-person summer season to 2021 we are grateful for the opportunity to commemorate this special milestone with a new production celebrating the Festival,” says Matt Wallace, Producing Artistic Director. “The production features never-before-seen and heard remembrances from seasons past. It also features many new performances of Shakespeare celebrating what makes our festival so special. It’s been a cathartic process for us to create this piece, in this time, honoring our history and looking to the future of Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.”
The production also features newly unearthed archival photos, as well as voices from many of the figures integral to Kentucky Shakespeare’s past. “We’ve been partnering this year with the University of Louisville History Department to document the Festival through oral histories, and we’ve also uncovered many photographs never seen by the public,” says Amy Attaway, Associate Artistic Director. “The production even features audio, never before made public, from former Producing Director Bekki Jo Schneider shortly before she passed away. We have so many surprises in store, and September 25 cannot come soon enough!”
The production was conceived and directed by Wallace and Attaway and was filmed and edited by Abby Sage, Visual Poet Studios.
Kentucky Shakespeare commissioned Louisville singer/songwriter Aaron Bibelhauser to write a song celebrating the Festival. “Gather Round” by Bibelhauser premieres in the filmed production.
Celebrate 60:
The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival Production
Friday, September 25 at 8:00PM Eastern
facebook.com/kentuckyshakespeare
and
youtube.com/kentuckyshakespeare
CREATIVE TEAM
Directed by Amy Attaway and Matt Wallace
Scenic Design: Karl Anderson
Costume Design: Donna Lawrence-Downs
Videography and Editing: Abby Sage, Visual Poet Studios
Sound Engineer: Victoria Campbell
Assistant Sound Engineer: Chelsey Beeson
Wardrobe/Production Assistant: Annie Mayer
Dramaturg: Gregory Maupin
Production Assistants: Frances Rippy, Rachel Meadors, Hannah Tarr
Oral Histories: Tracy E. K’Meyer and the University of Louisville History Department
Archive Photography: Richard Bram, Bill Brymer, James Clark, The Portrait Shop, Patrick Pfister Photography, Terry Rush, Holly Stone, Richard Trigg, and Wallace Studios.
CAST
Zachary Burrell
Barrett Cooper
Hallie Dizdarevic
Alex Gordon
Dathan Hooper
Jon Huffman
Tom Luce
Braden McCampbell
Abigail Bailey Maupin
Gregory Maupin
Mollie Murk
Jon Patrick O’Brien
Jennifer Pennington
Monte Priddy
Austin Ramirez
Frances Rippy
Tyler Rosenblatt
Gregory Sanders
Angelica Santiago
Tyler Tate
Kyle Ware
FEATURING THE VOICES OF
Phil Cherry
Casey Clark
John Gatton
Phoenix Gilmore
Brenda Johnson
Erin Keane
Georgette Kleier
Paul Owen
Hal Park
Curt L. Tofteland
Bekki Jo Schneider
Tina Jo Wallace
If you would like to schedule an interview with Matt Wallace, Producing Artistic Director, or learn more about the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, please contact Robert Silverthorn III at 574-9900 x11 or rob@kyshakespeare.com.
ABOUT KENTUCKY SHAKESPEARE
Designated the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth by the Kentucky legislature, Kentucky Shakespeare is a professional theatre company and not-for-profit charitable organization.
Mission: Grounded in the works of Shakespeare, we enrich communities by presenting accessible, professional theatre experiences that educate, inspire and entertain people of all ages.
Vision: To use Shakespeare’s universal truths and the power of the arts to transform lives. Shakespeare belongs to everyone.
kyshakespeare.com
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