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The Southern Shakespeare Festival was an annual event held in Tallahassee, Florida, United States from 1995-2000 and 2014-current.
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History
The Southern Shakespeare Festival was inspired by American entrepreneur Michael J. Trout in November 1994 as the Florida Theater Project. In the Summer of 1995, Michael Trout organized a touring company which was written, directed, and performed by David Klein. "Words...Words...Words: An Evening of Shakespeare" toured local theaters, regional high schools, and community arts centers. Trout then approached Florida State University Dean Emeritus Richard G. Fallon for his help to establish a free Shakespeare in the park festival, which Trout modeled after Joseph Papp's New York free Shakespeare-in-the-park. The free festival and renaissance ran from that 1996-2000 as an open air free festival and renaissance fare located in the downtown area behind Tallahassee's City Hall in Kleman Plaza.
Its inaugural free Shakespeare-in-the-park production in 1996, A Midsummer's Nights Dream, directed by Russian director Irina Brown, saw over 30,000 spectators according to the local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat (Sunday, December 29 article). It is recognized as one of the most successful free theater festivals in Tallahassee with over 80,000 spectators and over 20,000 students benefitting from its educational programming.
In 2012, the Southern Shakespeare Festival was revived thanks to Dr. Kevin Carr, Dr. Brent Griffin, and a dedicated group of Tallahassee theater artisans, most notably Laura W. Johnson, Executive Director, Catherine Leonard, Deputy Director, and Lanny Thomas, Artistic Director. The Capital City Amphitheater at Cascades Park is the new home of the revitalized Festival and its first production, which ran April 17–19, 2015, was A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Lanny Thomas, and starred special guest AEA artist, Jef Canter as Bottom.
Productions
Media articles include
Producers included
City of Tallahassee, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Leon County Tourist Development Council, Florida A&M University, Florida State University, and Tallahassee Community College
Founding Board Members included
Original: Richard G. Fallon, Dean Minardi, June Strauss, Michael J. Trout, Tina Campbell, Janet Hinkle, and Sue Dick.
Current: Dean Minardi, Coman Leonard, and Jonathan Johnson