Georgia Shakespeare
Georgia Shakespeare (formerly "Georgia Shakespeare Festival") was a professional, not-for-profit theatre company located in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States on the campus of Oglethorpe University from 1985-2014. Georgia Shakespeare produced three plays annually, primarily between June and November. Twelve educational programs were developed in the history of Georgia Shakespeare. These programs included "The High School Tour", a "High School Acting Competition", "Camp Shakespeare", a "High School Conservatory", a "No Fear Shakespeare" training program for educators, after school residencies, school tours, student matinees, classes for professionals, and in-school workshops. At its peak, it welcomed  60,000 patrons annually to its performances. History. 1985–1989. Georgia Shakespeare was founded in 1985 by Lane Anderson, Richard Garner, and Robert Watson under the name "Georgia Shakespeare Festival". The company produced two plays each year, with its first offering being productions of "The Taming of the Shrew" and "King Lear" in rotating repertory starting July 10, 1986. The rising theatre company went through several locations in its first years. Its first season was on the Oglethorpe University front athletic field in a rectangular, white 60' X 90' tent with a seating capacity of 300. The theatre changed tents for its  second season and was housed in a circular tent with a 90' diameter. This new tent increased the seating capacity by 50. For the theatre's fifth season, it moved into a 110' diameter circular tent that seated 400. 1990–1999. In 1991, Georgia Shakespeare expanded to three plays annually, and performed an adaptation of "The Three Musketeers" as its first work not written by William Shakespeare. In later years, the company has performed between three and seven plays per season. Georgia Shakespeare opened its 1997 season in the $5.7 million John A. and Miriam H. Conant Performing Arts Center  with "The Tempest". The Conant Center has a 509-seat modified thrust stage and it was this move that allowed the addition of a fall performance to the season schedule. 2000–2009. In 2001, Georgia Shakespeare became a member of the League of Resident Theaters and Shakespeare Theatre Association of America. At the time, it was one of only two theatres in the state of Georgia to be a part of this league. In 2004, Professor Andrew James Hartley, Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was appointed the company's first resident dramaturg (having  served a similar long0time role in a production-to-production basis). In 2005, he published a book, "The Shakespearean Dramaturg: A Theoretical and Practical Guide", based on his eight years experience dramaturging in the American southeast. 2010–2014. In 2011, mired in debt, the theatre launched a 'Save Georgia Shakespeare' campaign which was successful in raising over $500,000. When Georgia Shakespeare was still performing under a tent, patrons of the theatre started bringing pre-show picnics. This became a tradition and when the Conant Performing Arts Center was built, a covered area with tables and chairs was set aside for  picnics. In 2014, the grounds underwent a renovation funded through several Atlanta-area private foundations. In 2014, the theatre company closed for good in the middle of its 29th season, unable to stay open due to its high debts. Ensemble. Associate artists. Georgia Shakespeare had a core group of artists who, in 2014, had been with them between six and twenty-nine years and help define the theatre's identity. At the time of closing, those artists were: Productions. 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (Final Season)