Great River Shakespeare Festival
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44°03′08″N 91°37′58″W / 44.05219305278904°N 91.63287993053457°W
The Great River Shakespeare Festival (GRSF) is a professional equity theatre company in Winona, Minnesota, a Mississippi River town in the southeastern part of the state. Starting in 2004, it has produced several simultaneous performances each summer, held at the Winona State University DuFresne Performing Arts Center, with annual audiences of over 10,000. Its 2023 season runs from June 20 to July 30.
The festival features many art, music, and other events, such as an annual sonnet contest with entries from around the world. Additionally, Company Conversations, a weekly open-to-the-public talkback with company members, are hosted Sundays at Blooming Grounds Coffee House in downtown Winona.
GRSF also offers educational opportunities, especially for youth, including an apprentice/intern production. Youth classes are offered for grades 7-12, titled Shakespeare for Young Actors (SYA), Shakespeare for Young Designers (SYD), and Shakespeare for Young Filmmakers (SYF). SYA began in 2010.
Near the end of every season, GRSF company members produce a one-night performance known as Callithump, "a ridiculously fun, boisterous and wildly entertaining"[1] fundraiser and variety show. Typical acts include singing, skits, an auction, and more. Company members who participate in this show are colloquially known as "Thumpians". Before the show, pre-Callithump is held outside the Performing Arts Center; this often includes a dunk tank and other carnival-esque attractions.
Professional company productions[edit]
- 2004 (debut year): The Winter's Tale and A Midsummer Night's Dream
- 2005: Richard III and Much Ado About Nothing
- 2006: Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night
- 2007: Macbeth and As You Like It
- 2008: The Merchant of Venice and The Taming of the Shrew
- 2009: The Tempest and Love's Labours Lost
- 2010: The Comedy of Errors, Othello, and The Daly News
- 2011: Henry IV, Part One, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Fantasticks
- 2012: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, King Lear, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
- 2013: Twelfth Night, or What You Will, and King Henry V
- 2014: The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead
- 2015: Romeo & Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Glass Menagerie
- 2016: As You Like It, Julius Caesar, and Georama
- 2017: The Comedy of Errors, Richard III, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont, and "An Iliad"
- 2018: All's Well That Ends Well, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare in Love, and Venus in Fur
- 2019: Macbeth, Cymbeline, The Servant of Two Masters adapted by Beth Gardiner, No Child... by Nilaja Sun, and White Rabbit, Red Rabbit
- 2021: The Tempest, Great Expectations adapted by Gale Childs Daly, and Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe.
- 2022: Twelfth Night, The African Company Presents Richard III by Carlyle Brown, Always... Patsy Cline, and All the Town's a Stage: A Winona Story
- 2023: As You Like It, the world premiere of Imbroglio by Melissa Maxwell, and The Winter's Tale
Performances by acting apprentices and production interns[edit]
- 2004: As You Like It
- 2005: Twelfth Night
- 2006: Cymbeline
- 2007: Julius Caesar
- 2008: Pericles
- 2009: Hamlet
- 2010: Titus Andronicus
- 2011: King Lear
- 2012: All's Well that Ends Well
- 2013: Macbeth
- 2014: Troilus and Cressida
- 2015: King John
- 2016: Coriolanus
- 2017: Henry VI
- 2018: The Merchant of Venice
- 2019: Love's Labour's Lost.
- 2021: Romeo and Juliet
Student performances by Shakespeare for Young Actors[edit]
- 2010: Henry V
- 2011: The Winter's Tale
- 2012: As You Like It
- 2013: Romeo & Juliet
- 2014: The Tempest
- 2015: Macbeth
- 2016: The Comedy of Errors
- 2017: Hamlet*
- 2018: Twelfth Night*
- 2019: Henry V*. Additionally, the festival hosted a performance of The Two Gentlemen of Verona done by the visiting group Shakespearean Youth Theatre.
- 2020: Shakespeare Everywhere (digital showcase)*
- 2021: As You Like It*
- 2022: A Midsummer Night's Dream*
- 2023: Richard III*
*Included designs by Shakespeare for Young Designers
Shakespeare for Young Filmmakers short films[edit]
- 2018: Cassandra
- 2021: Bearly Beloved
- 2022: Quack
References[edit]
- ^ "2023 Season". Great River Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 2023-06-17.