Founded in 1999 by Becky Kemper and Steven Hoochuk, MSF was originally called "The Shakespeare Project." That spring a High School Intern Company was formed, and performed at the Frederick Festival of the Arts. The first Good Will Tour of the company was Much Ado About Nothing, which was performed for almost 3,000 in the 3 tour stops. In the 2000–2001 season, Kemper officially came on-salary as its first full-time paid staff member in the position of Producing Artistic Director. The tour of As You Like It found new success, performances at Hood College saw a 50% increase in audience numbers, and in Rockville and Gaithersburg, over 1,000 attend on 1 night performances. The 2001–2002 season included exciting changes to the education front with the addition of the Shakespeare Alive! program. The program performed for over 17,000 students across the state. A Community Partnership was also founded with the Weinberg Center for the Arts. The company completed its first official statewide tour in the 2003-2004 season with The Comedy of Errors, including stops in Easton, Baltimore, Gaithersburg, Rockville and Prince George's County. In 2008 the company began a series known as "Bare Bard". The Maryland Shakespeare Festival's goal for this series was to explore the original practices of William Shakespeare's company of actors and how they could inform contemporary productions. In particular, MSF used the Bare Bards to replicate the Elizabethan practice of mounting a play with minimal rehearsal and without a director, in the modern sense of the role. The cast members of a Bare Bard production gathered at the performance location only a day before the performance with lines memorized. They spent less than twelve hours assigning entrances and exits, blocking scenes, choreographing dances and fights, and exploring the text and story. The show was then performed twice before a live audience. Maryland Shakepeare Festival announced that they had changed their name to Maryland Shakespeare Company in June 2015. After their July 2015 production of Romeo and Juliet, the group announced that, effective August 2015, it had ceased operations.
Production history
2000 GWT-Much Ado About Nothing Directed by Carey Upton
2001 GWT-As You Like It Directed by Carey Upton
2002 GWT-Taming of the Shrew Directed by Carey Upton
2003 GWT-Twelfth Night Directed by Carey Upton
2004 GWT-Comedy of Errors Directed by Andrew Kahl
2005 GWT-Much Ado About Nothing Directed by Becky Kemper
2006 GWT-Two Gentlemen of Verona Directed by Andrew Borthwick-Leslie
2008 GWT-Merry Wives of Windsor Directed by Thad McQuade
2009 GWT-Taming of the Shrew Directed by John Bellomo
* REP-Julius Caesar, All's Well That Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing, Merchant of Venice
Programs
The Bare Bard Experiment began in 2008 on a model where a company of professional actors from across the country arrives on Friday. The actors rehearse for less than twenty-four hours, and on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, they perform the show with fully choreographed dances, live music, stage combat, and imaginative, improvisational storytelling.
Riotous Youth a young performer program uses the same training and techniques the professional company use. Through semester long classes the young company explore the text, and learn about rehearsal, as well as principals of theatrical production in a fully realized show twice a year.
Location
In February 2009 the MSF completed its first winter season. The winter season took place in the Centennial Memorial United Methodist Church in downtown Frederick at 8 West 2nd Street. The space was originally built in 1927 as a space for pageantry and performance. Commonly referred to as The Playhouse by company members, the space offers a unique opportunity to experience a stage similar to the traditional Elizabethan style of stage. Not unlike The Globe Theater, The Playhouse has a wrap around balcony and thrust playing area. In by the beginning of the 2010 season the company had lost use of the space due to a zoning issue. The company then used the Cultural Arts Center at 15 West Patrick Street as well as the parish hall at All Saints Episcopal Church, 21 North Court Street for their indoor performances.
