First Annual Shakespeare Festival opens in Vermillion

Today marks the first day of this year’s Shakespeare Festival in Vermillion’s Prentis Park.

Three professors from the University of South Dakota organized the festival with the producing and marketing skills of Coyoteopoly. Artistic Director Chaya Gordon-Bland spent many years involved in Shakespeare Festivals around the country before moving to South Dakota to become a professor at USD.

“I was surprised when I moved to South Dakota to learn that South Dakota was one of the few states in the nation without a state-wide Shakespeare Festival,” Gordon-Bland said.

This opened up the chance to Gordon-Bland to start something new in the SD/ vermillion area.

“To me this was a tremendous opportunity to start something new in a region that was not already saturated with theatre, a region where there is a need, demand and desire for the wonderful benefits, cultural, educational, fiscal and community-building that a community derives by being home to a professional Shakespeare company,” Gordon-Bland said.

As part of the festival, every night at 7 p.m. this weekend, a professional Shakespeare company will put on a performance of “As You Like It.”

The cast consists of actors from five different states as well as several USD students and recent theatre graduates. USD faculty and outside professionals staff the directing and design positions.

While cast members have been rehearsing for four weeks, the preparations for the 2012 festival have been in the works for 18 months.

Along with the performance of the comedy, Prentis Park will be full of food, drink and craft vendors. Other activities can be found out of the park, such as a Scholars’ Roundtable on Saturday in Farber Auditorium, and artist workshops that will take place in the Warren M. Lee Center for Fine Arts.

For more details on a list of Festival events, check out their website at sdshakespearefestival.org.