Guest Speaker Christopher Gaze

Jim McKinnon introduced our speaker, Christopher Gaze, founder of Bard on the Beach. Christopher treated us to an entertaining retrospective on Bard, from its modest beginnings to the current season of four productions stretching over 17 weeks in the summer. He was especially pleased to announce that every seat for every performance, a total of 86,000, are sold each season. Christopher was especially passionate about BotB's Young Shakespeare Program. Each summer, 16 children between the ages of 8 and 18 are selected into a series of two-week workshops. This gives several hundred young people the opportunity to work with professional instructors and to present the results of their work to friends and family on the Studio Stage. Bard in the Classroom sends actors into classrooms around the Lower Mainland to talk about Shakespeare and to give local teachers new insights into how the Bard can be presented. These children are then given the opportuity to see a play during one of the matinee performances held each September. From 11 classrooms four years ago, there will be 250 classrooms participating around the Vancouver area this year. Donna Webb observed that Bard's productions manage to give familiar plays a "buzz" that sets Bard apart from other highly recognized programs such as the one in Ashland, Oregon. Christopher said that the key is in finding the right directors and encouraging them to be creative. Finally, Christopher addressed the problem of too few tickets. With sold-out houses, it is increasingly difficult to get tickets, especially if one's calendar has few open dates. He said that the organization is considering going with somewhat larger tents, preserving the intimacy of the present format but adding about 250 seats in total to the two venues. In the meantime, book early. Christopher was thanked by Glen Miller. Notes this week by Bruce Campbell.