Shakespeare in Delaware Park

Shakespeare in Delaware Park is one of the largest free outdoor Shakespeare festivals in the country which takes place during summer months in Delaware Park located in the city of Buffalo, New York. The festival attracts about 40,000 audience members each year.[1]

Productions are performed for the public at no cost in Buffalo's Delaware Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Over 76 productions have been mounted in the 41 years that Shakespeare in Delaware Park has been running, with plays ranging from tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet, comedies like The Taming of the Shrew, and histories such as Henry IV (parts 1 and 2). The majority of actors come from the Buffalo area, and performances run Tuesday through Sunday from June through August, with dates varying each year. The shows are always performed in the evening, beginning at 7:30pm.[2]

Shakespeare in Delaware Park is a not-for-profit, professional theatre company dedicated to providing free, high-quality public theatre to the widest possible audience. Our goal is to enrich, inspire and entertain diverse audiences through performance and educational programming, with a focus on the works of William Shakespeare. We are committed to mentoring students and professionals, and offering adults and children opportunities to experience and appreciate live theatre.

History

Shakespeare in Delaware Park was first founded in 1976 by Saul Elkin, as a part of the University at Buffalo’s theater department.[3]

Elkin began the project for Shakespeare in Delaware Park by asking the Mayor of the city of Buffalo to help in developing a free Shakespeare theater festival to resemble the New York Shakespeare Festival. Mayor Stanley Makowski gave permission for the performances to take place in Delaware Park, as well as pledge to fund the electricity costs for all performances (a pledge honored to this day).

In 2016, Shakespeare in Delaware Park successfully completed a Capital Campaign for a New Stage, which was designed by Adirondack Studios. The new stage is designed with pieces that fit into three different configurations. This new design will dramatically increase the adaptability of the stage, expanding SDP's opportunity for artistic creativity, while improving audience sight-lines. It also offers a faster and more efficient procedure for assembly and disassembly, as well as improved safety during the process. This campaign project will also include expanded space for dressing rooms, concessions, on-site equipment and prop storage. The project will help SDP improve the overall experience for our audience, actors and crew. The aim is to create a better theatre experience and enhance the special character of the hill for our current and audience and future generations.

Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s previous Tudor style stage was first built and designed by Gary Casarella (technical director for the University at Buffalo's Theatre department[4]), and was constructed at the University at Buffalo with funding from the school's dean. After the construction of the stage it was marked, taken apart, and transported to Delaware Park, where it was reconstructed at the base of what is now known as “Shakespeare Hill”,[5] during the 1993 season, in time for that year's production of Romeo and Juliet. That season's first production used a temporary stage, and prior seasons used other stages. The seating has always been the hill itself, and audience members watch the productions on blankets, lawn chairs, and other self-provided seating.

In 1991, Shakespeare in Delaware Park became a fully independent non-profit organization whose only funding comes from donations made by the public, audience members, the City of Buffalo, Erie County, and outside entities such as M&T Bank, the local NBC affiliate WGRZ-TV, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and The Buffalo News.[6]

Educational Activities

The majority of roles for the productions in Shakespeare in Delaware Park are done through an audition process held at the Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s offices, before the summer season. Most actors are from the local area of Buffalo, NY and are hired seasonally, with the exception of a small troupe members who work year long with the company, performing in high schools throughout the Buffalo area.

Previous education productions include "Et Tu, Shakespeare?", “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Play!” written by the troupe members, and are hour long shows they perform for high school students that teaches parts of Shakespeare’s life, times, and Theater, by incorporating different parts of Shakespeare’s work such as his plays; “Comedy of Errors”, “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, and “Hamlet”, and some of his sonnets. The actors will then stay after the performance to answer questions students might have about Shakespeare and his work. This small troupe of actors also provide workshops for students where they can work alongside the actors to learn different elements such as; iambic pentameter, sound, meaning, and image, and can arrange these workshops to work around a specific Shakespearean play students may be working on.

The company also offers an intense 6 day workshop that includes the performance of “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Play”, the three-day workshop, and a joint performance that includes both students and troupe members from Shakespeare in Delaware Park.[7]

Staff/Board of Directors

Staff

Board of Directors

Past Productions

1976

1977

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1981

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1985

1986

1987

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1989

1990

1991

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1995

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2005

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2007

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2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.buffalorising.com/story/shakespeare_in_delaware_park_b
  2. ↑ http://www.shakespeareindelawarepark.org/faq.html
  3. ↑ http://www.theatredance.buffalo.edu/faculty_staff/faculty/elkin.shtml
  4. ↑ http://www.theatredance.buffalo.edu/faculty_staff/faculty/casarella_gary.shtml
  5. ↑ http://www.nickelcity.net/news/00_05/shakespeare.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.shakespeareindelawarepark.org/about.html
  7. ↑ http://www.shakespeareindelawarepark.org/education.html
  8. ↑ http://www.shakespeareindelawarepark.org/about.html

External links

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