ASF has had a great 2010 year and we give all the credit to our wonderful patrons, talented actors and dedicated employees.
2010 in Review:
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| "Harriet's Return" The amazing one woman show about Harriet Tubman. |
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| "Nobody" World Premiere musical about Bert Williams. |
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| "Fall of the House" World Premiere which played with time and elements of Edgar Allan Poe. |
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| "Hamlet" Nathan Hosner gave audiences chills in his role as the Prince of Denmark. |
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| "All's Well That Ends Well" Made audiences laugh and sigh at relief that everything worked out in the end. |
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| "Lettice and Lovage" Kept us on our toes and provided a funny twist among friends. |
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| "Cowgirls" These ladies WOWed audiences with the amount of talent on stage at one time. |
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| "Scot Bruce" Provided another wonderful evening of entertainment from the King of Rock and Roll. |
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| "The Nacirema Society" A great kick off to the 25th Season in Montgomery and a pleasure to have Jasmine Guy. |
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| "The House at Pooh Corner" A childhood favorite with a modern edge presented by our great group of interns. |
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| "Peter Pan" Sarah Litzsinger took every audience to Never Land night after night. |
And those are just the shows. We have entertained tens of thousands of school children through our AlfaSchoolFest program. Our
Southern Writer's Project weekend took place in May and we had people from all over attend and experience a variety of new plays. And we have spent a majority of the year celebrating our 25th Season in Montgomery. A party in the garden was thrown for William Shakespeare on his birthday in April and kids filled the theatre all summer for acting camps.
Our members have enjoyed events like Playwrights Dinners for Nobody and Fall of the House. We also had a Mother's Day Brunch, Thankful for You dinner and May Day wine tasting.
On October 30th the building was transformed into something out of the New York City scene as we celebrated the 25th Anniversary with a gala. Long time supporters of ASF attended the evening and were swept away by the food, entertainment and decor. Dionne Warwick sang on the festival stage and the event raised a significant amount of money for ASF.
We close the curtain on 2010 but look forward to 2011 and all it has to bring. Rehearsals have already started for our next few shows opening.
We invite you to join us for the thrill of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, where great stories come to play, in 2011!
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A gracious patron was cleaning out a family member's closet and came across a wonderful collection of hats for men and women. Instead of continuing to store them they decided to donate them to ASF in hopes of seeing them on stage someday. The costume shop accepted the donation with open arms.
There are still a few days left in 2010 to make an end of the year contribution. If you are interested in making a donation to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival please contact the Development Office by calling Denise Greene at 334-271-5380, or by emailing her at dgreene@asf.net. You can also make a donation on our web site by clicking
here.
Mark your calendar for our
Annual Armchair Auction, which is Saturday January 29th, 2011. WSFA airs the live bidding and you are able to bid on items in the comfort of your own living room in your armchair or you can head to ASF to bid with fellow bargin hunters. Take a look at the items available at
www.asfarmchairauction.com. New items are being added daily.
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This Thanksgiving ASF is thankful for our loyal patrons and we love to hear stories like this one...
A mother walked into the gift shop this evening and brought two packages of fairy dust to the counter. She looked around to make sure her family was out of sight and told us the story of Peter Pan and her family. Three years ago her daughter was 4 years old and they took her to Peter Pan at ASF. The little girl sat patiently through the entire show but was disappointed at the end when she realized she was never sprinkled with fairy dust. The parents were able to buy some at the gift shop without her noticing and on the way home they told her maybe they could ask Peter Pan to visit them that night. The little girl woke up the next morning to find fairy dust all over her and her bed with a trail leading outside which only means Peter Pan did visit her while she was sleeping. On the way to the show tonight the now 7 year old asked her parents if they could invite Peter Pan back again tonight. Her mom is ready with two bags of fairy dust for the daughter who still believes...
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"She is mine own, And I as rich in having such a jewel..." -The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) approached Lyle Fields, owner of Marquirette’s EXQUISITE Jewelry, to design a Signature Renaissance Necklace to mark ASF’s 25th Anniversary in Montgomery, Alabama. The inspiration was found in a 15th century Hugo van der Goes painting entitled The Portinari Altarpiece, which portrays one of the daughters of a Florentine banker wearing a necklace with rows of pearls, a gem between every pair of pearls, and a lily-shaped jeweled pendant and a suspended, large drop-shaped pearl. 
This double-strand, large pearl necklace linked by 18 carat rondelles is separated by 170 carats of garnets and features a 4.85 carat deep pink morganite tear drop that hypnotizes with its overwhelming beauty. A detachable turn-of-the-century inspirited medallion of 18 carat gold cradles vivid rhodolite garnet, topaz and green amethyst, totaling 54 carats of pure perfection. The necklace is expected to raise over $50,000 for the ASF, making it one of the most anticipated gifts donated to its eighth annual Armchair Auction.
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Our costume shop is quickly preparing all of our "Peter Pan" costumes for the cast. Rehearsals started last Friday and the show opens in less than a month. The ASF costume shop creates just about everything worn on stage. And they are very creative when it comes to creating the perfect look.
We even have very talented people who make all of the wigs for performances.
"Peter Pan" opens November 19th and runs through December 24th.
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Brett as Rabbit in "The House at Pooh Corner"
Seth as Eeyore in "The House at Pooh Corner"
Brett Warnke (Rabbit)- Troy, AL
Brett's dad was in the military so he moved around but settled in Huntsville 12 years ago and went to school in Troy to study acting. He has known about ASF for quite some time and actually attended “Hamlet” last season. Brett loves his dog Grady, a bird dog/border collie mix. A goal is to work professionally as constistenly as he can. Has spent three summers at Lost Colony on Ronak Island and fell in love with Colorado when he spent the summer at Cripple Creek doing a classic Victorian melodrama. Favorite role has been Lock Stock in Urinetown the Musical. Not really interested in film, Brett wants to stay in theatre. When not in rehearsal he is listening to music and right now he is really in to the Local Natives and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. His first role was freshman year of high school and had a great string of teachers to keep him going. His favorite food is cheap Chinese.
Seth D. Rabinowitz (Eeyore)- New York, NY
Born in Philly but raised in South Jersey his heart is in the City of Brotherly Love when it comes to sports. Seth is a sports fanatic with football and hockey at the top of the list and baseball coming in close second. He has his Master’s from the Actor’s Studio and his been acting and living in New York for the past 9 years. Seth wants to work his way to Broadway then move into film and television. Hamlet is his favorite play of all time and hangs in its entirety on a poster in his house. Braveheart is his favorite movie if he had to choose just one. Musical taste varies from classic rock to 80s to Dave Matthews Band. He owes everything to his wonderful, supportive parents and gives credit for his acting career to his mother since she was the one who got him into high school theatre. Seth enjoys studying and perfecting stage combat which will come in handy one day when he hopes to play Hamlet. Montgomery feels very homey to Seth and he is very happy to be here. One day he wants to own a black lab and name it Oberon.
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Here's a look at some of the costumes for the upcoming show, The Nacirema Society. This play is set in Montgomery in the 1960s and these pieces are from the 60s. The costume shop spent many hours searching on-line for the perfect pieces to appear center stage. These dresses and sweaters are mesmerizing and definitely pull the audience into the 60s fashion. ASF is excited about these authentic pieces and feels they are giving them a second life. Re-using already created clothing instead of making new helps recycle items. Enjoy taking a look at some of the costumes and get a feel for the 1960s through these pictures.
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Tara and Kevin both enjoy music and performing. Tara has a wonderful voice and is looking forward to sharing it with an audience. Kevin has gotten into recording and recently started playing the guitar. Broadway stars in the making? They are anxious to see where their love for music will take them.
Tara L. Herweg (Kanga)- Camp Hill, PA
Tara was born and raised in PA and has been in New York for four years auditioning and working for a law firm. If she’s not in rehearsal you can find her curled up on her couch reading. Tara saw a lot of movies in NY because cheaper than going to see a show. She loves how clean the air in Montgomery is and is looking forward to exploring local restaurants along with the local music scene. Tara enjoys writing but does it sporadically. She tries to keep her blog updated so check out Tara's adventures at
http://www.alifeofquestionabletaste.blogspot.com/ Tara can't wait to sing on stage again which an audience, it’s been a while. Tara is enjoying the break from NY and is very excited about her current role as Kanga in
The House at Pooh Corner.
Kevin (Kev) Callaghan (Roo)- East Northport, NY
Kevin is loving Montgomery and has been able to expand his skill set already. Kevin had a hand in recording the intro music for
The House at Pooh Corner. He picked up playing the guitar in the past year and has enjoyed learning. Kevin just finished school at Wagner College and this is his first gig right out of the gate. He is very interested in going to Broadway or branch into film. He would like to try his hand at directing at some point, but really loves acting. He likes anything Clint Eastwood related. And eventually, Kevin wants to fall in love, get married and have a few kids.
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