Category Guest Post

Have you ever wondered how our actors memorize the 400-year-old words of the Bard?

Have you ever wondered how an actor prepares themselves for a performance? Or what goes on behind the set when an actor steps off the stage, only to reappear a few seconds later dressed as a completely different character?

We bring you news about this season’s acting Company! We’ve just said a fond farewell to Lois Anderson, and welcome (back to Bard) to Jennifer Lines.

Our patrons support Bard on the Beach in many different ways – from buying tickets, to volunteering, to becoming a Member. We are grateful that so many have made Bard a part of their lives.  A tangible way of supporting Bard is to dedicate a chair in one of our theatres, affixed with a plaque engraved with a special message on the selected chair.  Patrons choose to dedicate their chairs for many reasons – remembering a loved one, celebrating an anniversary or honouring a specific person.

This year marks my 10th season with Bard on the Beach education programs. I did my first Young Shakespeareans Workshop in 2005 when I was 12, taught by Andrew Wheeler. We performed Romeo and Juliet and I played the Nurse. I participated in 10 workshops over the next six years, until I aged out of the program.

Excitement flooded the theatre community today when Bard on the Beach unveiled its plans to construct a new stage in the Burrard Inlet. Now in its 26th year, the Shakespeare Festival has become an iconic summer tradition, bringing in a record 100,000 patrons over its 2014 season. Rising attendance has indicated a need for expansion but the site, bounded by water on two sides, is limited by its geographical location.

“At first we joked about it,” laughs Artistic Director Christopher Gaze. “We’d say the only place to expand was to go into the water – literally!”