Congratulations to all the Jessie nominees and winners! Mara Gottler took home the prize for Outstanding Costume Design for The Merchant of Venice (2011). Director Rachel Ditor was on hand to accept it on her behalf and thanked our head of wardrobe Sydney Cavanagh and all the fabulous men and women who work tirelessly behind the scenes costuming at Bard. It was truly lovely.

The previews for The Merry Wives of Windsor begin this Thursday. Director Johnna Wright has decided to set the play in the late 1960s, because as she says  “like Elizabethan England, the North America of this decade was a time of profound change and growth. This is the ‘Sixties’ of wedding rings, curling, and slightly bored housewives.”

Click here to read more about Johnna’s Merry Wives concept.

Vancouver sun critic Peter Birnie, Bard’s artistic director Christopher Gaze and Alliance for Arts and Culture executive director Rob Gloor recently discussed whether Culture in Vancouver was dead or if it was alive and thriving. Check out the video below and sound off in the comments.

Well, the first previews for The Taming of the Shrew have started and the Bard site is starting to take shape. While our full site is not complete (the Studio Stage will be open soon), many things are open such as our concession and boutique.

The Bard Boutique
The Boutique is terrific place to shop for souvenirs, gifts and some awesome t-shirts that feature quotes from this year’s productions. It’s a little dangerous to have a great place to shop at the same place that you work. My credit card will suffer but I’ve never looked better.

Welcome to Bard on the Beach’s blog. This is the place to hear about all the backstage happenings and quirky Bard on the Beach news. This blog will be primarily written by me – Ava Forsyth,  Marketing Manager at Bard with some guest posts from staff and company members throughout the summer.

There will be much to come in the coming months so stay tuned!