Shakespeare Festival ~ yes!

"To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." 

~ Polonius in Hamlet, William Shakespeare

 Delightful is the best way I can describe our annual retreat to the Shakespeare Festival.  These lovely women are so interesting and so much fun to be with; we stay up talking and laughing until the wee hours each morning.  Our fifth annual trip, it is something I look forward to for months!

Jeffrey Lieder in the Costuming Seminar with the muslim mock-up, at left and on the right,
 the actual dress of  Queen Elizabeth 1 in Mary Stuart  

 We not only get to see some wonderful plays: Les Miserables (I'm still singing!), To Kill a Mockingbird (one of my favorite books, I want to read it again,) Merry Wives of Windsor and Scapin (laughing the whole way through) were our choices at the Shakespeare Festival this year.  We also enjoy attending the seminars they have before the plays.  The Costuming Seminar gives an interesting and inside look at not only how costumes are made ~the hours of planning, budgeting, shopping, designing, and sewing the costumes, but also how a costume brings reality to the actor who is playing that character and adds to the experience of the audience as well.  Jeffrey mentioned during the seminar how a rehearsal changes once the actors are in costume and the actors really take on that role.  Last year, for one of the plays, Noises Off, they showed us an apron that one of the characters wore in the play.  That one apron actually was several aprons and as the show and the rehearsals go on, the apron becomes more tattered and faded.

 We attend the Play Orientations and Actors Seminars, and learn so much about each play.  We always find ourselves wishing we had tickets to every single play!  Maybe next year!

Paula, Stephanie, Carolyn, Patti and Ann at the Play Orientation

 Waiting for the Play Orientation to begin ~

Dinner plate Dahlias

 We saw these lovely flowers on our way to The Pastry Pub.

Paula, Ann, Sandy, Carolyn and Patti

 There are a couple of restaurants that are our annual favorites!  The Garden House on 164 S and 100 West is in an old home and is comfortable and cozy.  The food is beautifully presented and delicious to eat.  Another favorite is the Pastry Pub on West Center ~ they have great salads, pasta and sandwiches.

Paula, Ann, Stephanie, Carolyn and Patti

The beautiful quilt at the entry of the Garden House

 The Green Show, held in the quad, is lively and fun.  Costermongers, in period costume, come round selling delicious pastries and freshly roasted cinnamon almonds while you watch the show.

 Some of the beautiful herbs in the gardens at SUU ~ this one was particularly fragrant and I am still wondering what it is.

 While at the Shakespeare Festival, we try to take in one of the Neil Simon Plays at the Neil Simon Festival as well.  This year we went to see Proposals at the Heritage Theater.  The play was well done, but we were a little disappointed.  The past few years, the audience has been seated right on the stage  - so it was theater in the round.  This year, they had us sitting right down in the normal auditorium seats, and it wasn't as much fun!  I guess I enjoyed it because theater in the round gets you so close to the actors and the action!

Patti, Carolyn, Stephanie, Ann, Paula and Sandy

Saturday afternoon, after Proposals, we drove back to St. George and picked up Tiffany from the SG Airport.  She joined us for dinner and the evening trip to Tuacahn.  Another highlight of the trip was getting to see another dear friend, Renae H.  She met us at Basilla's restaurant and we so enjoyed our visit with her.

The set for Hairspray at Tuacahn

 That evening we went to see Hairspray at Tuacahn. High energy, great music and fun acting ~ it was an enjoyable way to end our Festival trip.

Carolyn, Ann, and Tiffany waiting for Hairspray to begin.

Thank you ladies, dear, sweet friends, for another memorable year at the Shakespeare Festival.

"Thy friendship makes us fresh." 

Charles in Henry VI