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Letter from The Artistic Director...
Welcome to the Orlando Shakespeare Theater! We are glad you came for a visit to our web site. To
look at the different facets of our organization, either select the drop down menus above or, if you are looking for something specific, use
the SEARCH bar in the upper right hand corner. I'm Jim Helsinger, the Artistic Director and it is my pleasure to take on a stroll through our history.
Nineteen years ago, the Orlando Shakespeare Theater began its first
season of two Shakespearean productions. Thanks to the stewardship of
the founding Artistic Director Dr. Stuart Omans, the generous
assistance of the University of Central Florida and the commitment of
our sponsors, donors and patrons, that fragile seed has grown into a
major regional theater providing artistic and educational events
throughout the year.
Guided
by our mission and values statements and supported by a strong staff,
Board of Directors, Associate Board, and Guild Volunteers, we are now
embarking on our nineteenth season of growth and excellence! Today our
season includes our Subscription Series of six productions with a cast
of professional actors from around the country, our Theater for Young
Audiences Series of three theatre for young audiences productions, a
workshop/reading series for new plays and a 10-Day festival of new
plays, The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays, a summer Shakespeare
production performed by local high school students in our TYC program,
summer camps for children, community and professional classes, and
extensive teaching in K-12 schools. With a large full-time
administrative staff and a company of professional directors,
designers, assistants, interns, and production staff, we are growing by
leaps and bounds.
The
Festival has performed 43 mainstage productions of Shakespeare's works.
Our free monthly reading series, Shakespeare Unplugged, read the entire
canon of 36 plays for the public, and we've performed 29 productions of
Shakespeare as a part of our summer TYC program for a total of 108
productions of the Bard. The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays and
our playwrights' series of adaptations of classics and new works has
produced world premiere productions of Robinson
Crusoe, Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker, Poe, Deep into that
Darkness Peering, Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus, The Island of
Dr. Moreau, A Christmas Carol in Five Parts, Trapezium, The Trial of
Ebenezer Scrooge, and the Playfest Premieres of Around the World in 80 Days, Crime and Punishment, and Opus.
The John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, our 50,000 sq.ft complex
includes, the Ken and Trisha Margeson Theater (324 seats), the Marilyn
and Sig Goldman Theater (118 seats), Studio B (70 seats), Mandell
Studio Theater (96 seats) the Dr. Phillips Patrons Room, gift shop,
catering kitchen, scenic, costume and prop shops, administrative
offices, and the outdoor Darden Courtyard.
Thanks for visiting our site. I'll see you at the shows!
- Jim Helsinger, Artistic Director
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