1 ShakeSpeare TheaTre Company 2013 | 2014 Annual Report Dear Friend, It is my great honor to share the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s works to our shared human experience in the modern world. accomplishments from the 2013-2014 Season with you. Building These monumental productions were part of the Clarice Smith on more than a quarter-century of strong artistic, educational repertory Series, thanks to the generosity of the robert h. and community-focused offerings, we reached for ever greater Smith Family Foundation. heights with this season’s programming and, in a testament to the dedication and passion of our staff and supporters, we have We closed our 2013-2014 Season with noël Coward’s Private Lives, triumphed on every level. a stylish and clever play that was rivaled in elegance and wit only by the cast and design team. Director maria aitken returned to the The season began with the annual Free For all, a remount of Shakespeare Theatre Company with this production, and we were ethan mcSweeny’s breathtaking production of Much Ado About delighted to share such glamour with our audiences. Nothing. Set in Cuba in the 1930s, audiences were dazzled by the “sun-baked sensuality of Shakespeare’s messina and… conga- of course, our season would not have been complete without drumming, hip-bouncing fiestas, [set in] the central, open space the phenomenal presentations that appeared on our stages, of Leonato’s hacienda, complete with a weather-worn garden including the explosive Mies Julie; another noël Coward play, statue of Cupid” (The Washington Post). Brief Encounter, from the team at kneehigh Theatre; and Man In A Case featuring mikhail Baryshnikov. We launched our mainstage season with Measure for Measure, directed by Jonathan munby, in the Lansburgh Theatre. This We also expanded our educational programs this year. I am production explored one of Shakespeare’s favorite themes, pleased to report that our District Shakespeare initiative has the duality of humanity, perfectly captured by aeschylus’ made free tickets and transportation available to every public observation that “some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall” in and public charter secondary school in the city. In addition, we a compellingly contemporary way, setting the scene amidst increased the number of student matinees we offer to both the the excesses of europe in the late 1930s. It was followed by the District Shakespeare and ShakeSpearIenCe programs by 15% in hysterical musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the the last year. Forum, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, and starring Shakespeare none of this would have been possible without the Theatre Company favorites Bruce Dow and Tom Story. I was extraordinary support of our Board of Trustees, donors and tremendously proud of alan paul, our own associate artistic patrons; you, our committed friends of the Company, allow us Director, who won the helen hayes award for outstanding to craft and share classical theatre and to reach ever-larger Director, resident musical for this production; his sure hand with and more varied audiences. The ambitious productions we this beloved score and script was truly remarkable. keith Baxter, create and the innovative educational programs we promote another face familiar to STC friends, directed our next Lansburgh are realized through your generosity, and for that we thank show, oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, alongside you from the bottom of our hearts. The Shakespeare Theatre the team that brought us An Ideal Husband three seasons prior. Company’s 2013-2014 Season was yours, and I am glad to share with you all of those to come as well. Fulfilling a long-held ambition, I was privileged to direct an incredible cast in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 at Sidney harman hall Warmly, in the spring. Starring edward Gero as king henry, Stacy keach as Falstaff, and introducing matthew amendt—who later won an emery Battis award for acting excellence for his portrayal of prince hal—the productions grounded us in our goal to michael kahn make Shakespeare’s plays accessible to all audiences while artistic Director igniting a dialogue that connects the universality of classic 2 3 Cover photo: edward Gero as king henry IV and the cast of henry IV, part 1. photo by Scott Suchman. photo of michael kahn by kevin allen. tAble of contents 6 Mission, Vision and Values 9 board of trustees 12 the season 26 Rentals 28 figures and statistics 32 community 43 education Programs 55 special events 64 financial Report 66 support 74 staff 4 5 The cast of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum , directed by alan paul. photo by T. Charles erickson. We expand the classic theatre repertoire in america by reviving our Mission our VaLueS anD FoCuS and commissioning adaptations and translations of important Mission, forgotten works. The Shakespeare Theatre Company creates, preserves and The Shakespeare Theatre Company produces and presents promotes classic theatre—ambitious, enduring plays with the highest-quality classic theatre productions across genres, We create impactful and responsive arts education and universal themes—for all audiences. bringing them to vibrant life in a provocative, imaginative and community engagement programs to connect audiences to the Vision accessible style. significance of classic works and themes. our Vision With Shakespeare at our core, we explore plays of national and We provide a home for leading classical artists and a training And international relevancy—those with profound themes, complex ground for the next generation of theatre artists and arts characters and heightened language—through a contemporary We create theatre to ignite a dialogue that connects the administrators. 21st century lens. universality of classic works to our shared human experience in VAlues the modern world. 6 7 board of tRustees (as of 7/31/13) OfficerS TrusteeS emerituS Michael R. Klein, nicholas W. Allard eleanor Merrill TrusteeS chair Ashley M. Allen Melissa A. Moss R. Robert linowes*, Robert e. falb, stephen e. Allis Robert osborne founding chairman Vice c hair Anita M. Antenucci stephen M. Ryan James b. Adler John Hill, Jeffrey d. bauman George stamas Heidi l. berry* treasurer Afsaneh beschloss lady Westmacott david A. brody* Pauline A. s chneider, William c. bodie Rob Wilder Melvin s. cohen* secretary landon butler suzanne s. Youngkin Michael Kahn, dr. Paul carter Ralph P. davidson* Artistic director chelsea clinton James f. fitzpatrick dr. Mark epstein dr. sidney Harman* Andrew c. florance ex-Officio lady Manning dr. natwar Gandhi Kathleen Matthews Miles Gilburne Trustee William f. Mcsweeny barbara Harman V. sue Molina John R. Hauge chris Jennings, Walter Pincus stephen A. Hopkins Managing d irector eden Rafshoon lawrence A. Hough emily Malino scheuer* W. Mike House lady sheinwald Jerry J. Jasinowski Mrs. louis sullivan norman d. Jemal daniel W. toohey scott Kaufmann sarah Valente Kevin Kolevar lady Wright Abbe d. lowell bernard f. McKay *deceased 8 9 photo of michael r. klein by kevin allen. We artistry cReAte artistry is at the core of all of our productions. The 2013-2014 Season ranged from classic revivals to stunning adaptations in a breadth of genres. From the critically acclaimed Clarice Smith repertory Series to our celebrated STC presentation series of international programming, STC advanced the boundaries of classic theatre while introducing audiences to modern works And influenced by the classics. PeRfoRM anthony10 roach as algernon and Siân phillips as Lady Bracknell in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of 11 The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by keith Baxter. photo by Scott Suchman. MucH Ado About notHinG By William Shakespeare original Direction by ethan mcSweeny Directed by Jenny Lord august 20—September 1, 2013 Sidney harman hall Free For all, a beloved annual Washington tradition, marked its fifth anniversary performing in Sidney harman hall with By William Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Jenny Lord from ethan mcSweeny’s original 2012 production. Much Ado tells the story Directed by Jonathan munby of quick-witted sparring companions Beatrice and Benedick, September 12—october 27, 2013 as well as young lovers hero and Claudio, and the schemes of friends and foes to twist the two couples’ relationships. The The Lansburgh Theatre production transplanted the play from 17th-century messina Scott parkinson as angelo and ensemble members Jacqui Jarrold, Gracie Terzian and amber mayberry in the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of Measure for Measure, directed by Jonathan munby. photo by Scott Suchman. to 1930s Cuba, updating the classic romantic comedy’s island milieu. Set against the backdrop of military and social conflict, Shakespeare’s comedy came to life through the sound and rhythms of afro-Cuban music and dance. The mainstage season opened with Measure for Measure, examining the role of religion and politics in daily life, munby many of the original cast members returned to star in this Shakespeare’s dark, controversial comedy about the corrupting described the setting of 1930s austria as the perfect context to delightful summer production, including kathryn meisle as nature of power. When the Duke of Vienna takes a leave of unlock Shakespeare’s moral queries, a period that “was an incredibly Beatrice and STC affiliated artist Derek Smith as Benedick. The absence and hands his power over to the iron-fisted angelo, a fertile time and an incredibly unstable time.” The finished production Shakespeare Theatre Company’s annual Free For all has offered new regime begins that brings the very definitions of vice and with its “sharply modern edge” (Washingtonian), proved, according free Shakespeare performances to the general public for the virtue into question. Director Jonathan munby (STC’s 2009 hit to DC Metro Theater Arts, that “once again, the cultural treasure that past 23 years, and this year gave away more than 10,000 tickets The Dog in the Manger) returned to direct this play in which is D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre Company has made the Bard a relevant to D.C.