Annual Shakespeare Festival 2012

"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 was attended by Ann, Carolyn, Stephanie, Paula, Patti and Sandy

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, To Kill a Mockingbird,  Merry Wives of Windsor and Scapin 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. At this year’s seminar, Jeffrey showed us the gown worn by Monica Bell in her role as Elizabeth 1 in Mary Stuart.  Another interesting dress was Melisa Pereyra’s gown in her role as Lavinia in Titus Andronicus.   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 the actress changes aprons to show the passing of time as 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.  This year we also went to a fun evening called Bardway Baby. It is a concert at 11:00 p.m. in the Auditorium Theater.  The fundraising concert is given by the actors and actresses to raise funds for the new artistic initiative fund, which helps promote the Festival’s growth.

Dinner plate Dahlias

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

Paula, Ann, Sandy, Carolyn and Patti

Paula, Ann, Stephanie, 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.

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 .

 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; 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, William Shakespeare

Mark of Royalty

Walden Ladies Read Mark of Royalty!

Recipe for the perfect Book Club  

1. A group of amazing and varied ladies - Check!
2.  Refreshments - CHECK 
3. Interesting, different and sometimes unusual books - CHECK  
4. A casual atmosphere where no one is afraid to share their opinion - CHECK
5. An occasional field trip or book related activity - CHECK  
6. Just a pinch of interesting guest speakers to spice up our routine  once in a while - CHECK

Yep, our 13 year old Walden Ladies Book Club pretty much has it all!!  Just back from our annual retreat to the Utah Shakespeare Festival, we had the opportunity to host the author of our August book selection.

The book we read was Mark of Royalty and one of the authors, Jennifer Clark came to talk to us about publishing this, her first book.  She also talked about her book that is about to be published and the one that's in the writing stages right now.  We had all read the book, and found it to be charming.  It is the tale of a young woman of royal birth, who is spirited out of the country, due to political concerns, and is raised as the daughter of a fellow country woman abroad.  The story unfolds as she grows, learns about the world and eventually becomes interested in a handsome young man ... but then, I don't want to spoil the ending for you. Let me just say that we found the plot to be intriguing and romantic, a combination that is hard to beat.

Jennifer, shown on the right, did a great job of presenting her experience of breaking into the world of her own printed word ... she was also very gracious in answering our many and varied questions.  Thanks for coming Jennifer, you are welcome to come and join us anytime, you really felt like a member of our book club family. PS We loved your book!!

Thank you, Paula, for hosting our August book club at your lovely historic home and for the fun write-up and photos!