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My summer has begun! The cast and crew of the Great River Shakespeare Festival have arrived in Winona, a little like the swallows returning to Capistrano, I like to think. All these exotic birds alighting in our midst.
They gathered for a welcome meeting on Tuesday at the Performing Arts Center on the Winona State Campus. Founding director Paul Barnes welcomed the company, which included veterans of the Festival and a good number of newcomers, mostly interns and apprentices, for whom Winona and the GRSF are things to be learned about in the coming ten weeks that they will make their home here. He also thanked the Winona community for placing its faith in the Festival, now in its sixth season.
Gary Evans, chairman of the GRSF Board of Directors, welcomed the company as well to this, the sixth season. He acknowledged that initially there were misgivings among some residents about a Shakespeare festival in Winona, but that five seasons of successes have proved that any naysayers “had another think coming!”
Barnes told the gathering that the GRSF has “fired the imagination of the community,” as evidenced by —
• a 300-member volunteer organization, the Friends of Will (which this year also has a group of volunteers forming in Rochester)
• the GRSF Collegium, a group under the guidance of Dr. Pat Costello which has studied the plays for the upcoming season for the last several months, and also hosted a Shakespeare-inspired dinner this past Monday at the Watkins Manor
• thought-provoking commentary and letters to the editor in the local media, especially last season, when GRSF mounted productions of two plays — Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice — that some consider to be politically incorrect
• attending in great numbers those plays despite the questions concerning them.
He said that the way that the community has embraced the GRSF company and supported the Festival financially through sponsorships and ticket sales has “emboldened us.” He acknowledged the current financial climate that has affected all of us, including the Shakespeare Festival. The Festival has cut $100,000 out of the budget, but, said Barnes, they are “committed to excellence.” He said he thinks of the GRSF as the “Little Engine That Could,” and that through aggressive fundraising, grant-seeking and increased ticket sales, he is convinced that despite the economy, this will be a successful season.
“People still want to hear stories,” Barnes said. Theater ticket sales nationally have not dropped off in hard times, he said, because theater “lifts the human spirit.”
The plays chosen for this season will certainly lift the Winona spirits. But the season is short, so don’t wait until it’s over to think, “I wish I could have gotten tickets…” Opening weekend is June 26, and the last performance is July 26. Plan now. Tickets and seating reservations can be had at grsf.org.
The Festival this coming summer is dedicated to Rosemary Ingham, a gracious and talented woman who died last year at the age of 71 while visiting Winona for the Festival. She was a theatrical costume designer, teacher and author who helped to found the Great River Shakespeare Festival. Her drive for excellence and living life fully will inspire the company this year, said Barnes.
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