Bard on the Beach

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Bard on the Beach is Western Canada's largest professional Shakespeare festival, which is held every year in open-ended tents on the waterfront in Vanier Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival’s 18th season runs May 31 to September 23, 2007.

1 History
2 The site
- 2.1 Mainstage
- 2.2 Douglas Campbell Studio Stage
3 Young Shakepeareans Workshops
4 Chronology of Plays
5 External links

[edit] History

Bard on the Beach was established in 1990 with a mandate to provide Vancouver residents and tourists with affordable, accessible Shakespearean productions of the finest quality. The festival began as an Equity Co-op, funded primarily by a Canada Council Explorations grant awarded to Artistic Director Christopher Gaze. Bard on the Beach is now a fully professional, not-for-profit theatre company, engaging more than 30 actors as well as directors, designers, and technicians.

[edit] The site

Bard is located in Vanier Park just below the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver. It consists of two stages: The Mainstage and The Douglas Campbell Studio Stage. There is also a group of tents known as the Bard Village which contains the box office, a gift shop, and a concession.

[edit] Mainstage

The mainstage is a 520 seat stage which houses the two main performances each season. It is open-ended with a backdrop of False Creek, the Coast Mountains and city skyline. The set itself changes year to year to accommodate the performance.

[edit] Douglas Campbell Studio Stage

The Douglas Campbell Studio Stage was added in 1999 and is named after the Canadian stage actor, Douglas Campbell. The studio stage now presents two of Shakespeare's plays each year. The tent itself seats 240 people. The stage configuration and set for the studio stage, like the mainstage, changes every year.

[edit] Young Shakepeareans Workshops

The Young Shakespeareans workshops are workshops for youth aged 8 to 18, put on at the festival throughout the summer. They include junior groups and senior groups which last for two weeks at a time, as well as a one week intensive for more experienced actors. The current director of the program is Mike Stack.