Bard on the Beach: Encyclopedia - Bard on the Beach

Bard on the Beach

Bard on the Beach is Western Canada's largest professional Shakespeare festival, which is held every year in Vanier Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is currently in its 16th season. The festival traditionally puts on 3 plays each season (the season is each year from June to September), two on the mainstage and one on the studio stage. It also puts on related dramas and special events each year. These include the very popular Bard-B-Q and fireworks, Wine tastings, and opera.

Bard on the Beach - History

Bard on the Beach was started in 1990 by current artistic director, Christopher Gaze. The self-stated goal of the festival was to provide inexpensive but professional theatre to residents of Vancouver.

It began as an Equity Co-op funded by The Canada Council Explorations grant and is currently supported by numerous corporate sponsors, the most prominent of which is Alcan.

The most recent change to the festival was the addition of The Douglas Campbell Studio Stage in 1999.

Bard on the Beach - The site

Bard is located in Vanier Park just below the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver. It consists of two Stages, The Mainstage and The Douglas Campbell Studio Stage. There is also a main tent known as the Bard Village which contains offices, a gift shop, and a concession; there is a pavilion, a large block of outhouses, and numerous backstage areas for actors.

Bard on the Beach - Mainstage

The mainstage is a 520 seat stage which houses the two main performances each season. It is open-ended so the backdrop is always False Creek and the Coast Mountains. The set itself changes year to year to accommodate the performance but always consists of three entrances from each wing, an upstage one, a downstage one, and a floor level one. The stage is slightly thrust but more resembles a traditional stage.

Bard on the Beach - Douglas Campbell Studio Stage

The Douglas Campbell Studio Stage was added in 1999 and is named after legendary Canadian stage actor, Douglas Campbell. The studio stage presents one lesser-known Shakespeare play each year as well as numerous related dramas. The tent itself seats 240 people. The stage is a thrust stage, which means the audience sits on three sides, this means that the blocking of the play is very different and it makes for an interesting performance. The set for the studio stage, like the mainstage, changes every year.

Bard on the Beach - Young Shakepeareans Workshops

The Young Shakespeareans workshops are workshops for youth aged 8 to 18 put on at the festival throughout the summer. They include junior groups and senior groups which last for two weeks at a time as well as a one week intensive for more experienced actors. The current director of the program is Mike Stack.

Bard on the Beach - Chronology of Plays

• 1990
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
• 1991
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • As You Like It
• 1992
  • Twelfth Night
  • The Tempest
• 1993
  • The Taming of the Shrew
  • Romeo and Juliet
• 1994
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor
  • King Lear
• 1995
  • The Comedy of Errors
  • Hamlet
• 1996
  • Much Ado About Nothing
  • The Merchant of Venice
• 1997
  • Love's Labour's Lost
  • The Winter's Tale
• 1998
  • As You Like It
  • Richard III
• 1999
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • Macbeth
  • Measure for Measure
• 2000
  • The Tempest
  • Henry IV, part 1
  • All's Well That Ends Well
• 2001
  • The Taming of the Shrew
  • Antony and Cleopatra
  • The Two Gentlemen of Verona
• 2002
  • Twelfth Night
  • Henry V
  • Cymbeline
• 2003
  • The Comedy of Errors
  • The Merchant of Venice
  • Pericles, Prince of Tyre
  • Shylock (this is not a Shakespeare play but rather a play written about the character Shylock)
• Bard in the Vineyard:
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
• 2004
  • Much Ado About Nothing
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor
  • Macbeth
• 2005
  • As You Like It
  • Love's Labour's Lost
  • Hamlet
  • Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (by Tom Stoppard)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Bard on the Beach", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki