OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska Shakespeare announced in a press release on Thursday that it disbanded as an organization, effective immediately, after 36 years of productions.
The Nebraska Shakespeare Festival started back in 1986 and was founded by Alan Klem of Creighton University and Cindy Phaneuf of UNO.
“We are proud of what we have accomplished over the last 36 years, but the time has come to pass the torch to other arts organizations,” said Adrian Blake, chair of Nebraska Shakespeare. “We are happy to have made the works of Shakespeare come alive for two generations of Nebraskans.”
Actors’ Equity is the professional theater actors' union and, for many years, Nebraska Shakespeare has been the only Actors’ Equity theater in Nebraska. With the organization closing, there will not be a recognized Equity theater company in the state.
"Shakespeare on the Green entertained tens of thousands of Nebraskans and was an annual highlight of the Omaha summer, rivaled only by the College World Series. Our annual fall tour brought professional theatre to communities across the state who wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to see it. And Camp Shakespeare was a formative experience for two generations of theatre kids,” said Blake.
History of the organization according to the press release:
- 1997, Nebraska Shakespeare started its sonnet-writing contest, christened in 2005 as the Anne Dittrick Sonnet Contest in memoriam of Anne Triba Dittrick. The contest kept the Shakespearean sonnet form alive, inspiring hundreds of new sonnets annually.
- 2006, Shakespeare On Tour kicked off its first annual season as a means of reaching students and communities not served by Shakespeare On The Green. The Taming of the Shrew was chosen as the first production to mirror and commemorate Nebraska Shakespeare’s first On The Green production.
- 2011, Shakespeare On The Silverscreen was created. The festival screened and explored Shakespeare’s work as adapted for film, providing audiences the chance to compare the films to their staged counterparts.
- 2012, Nebraska Shakespeare launched a Director’s Reading Series to discuss and give life to Shakespeare’s less well-known works.
- 2016, Nebraska Shakespeare worked closely with its partner universities and their students and produced A War of Roses, a first-of-its-kind collaborative production of the Henry VI trilogy, in two parts. The first part was presented at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and the second was at Creighton University.
- 2016 also saw the start of Juno's Swans, an all-female Shakespeare performance series.
"In keeping with its mission to engage, educate, and entertain its audiences, Nebraska Shakespeare also offered a variety of activities including workshops, film, literary, and production seminars, classes, backstage tours, and the introduction of the state-wide event 'Talk Like Shakespeare Day,'" said the release. "The board wishes to thank the thousands of actors, staff, volunteers, and donors and the tens of thousands of audience members who made it all possible."
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