Shakespearience 2025
Over this last weekend, Encore had the exciting opportunity to once again visit the Utah
Shakespeare Festival for a day full of learning, fun, and three incredible performances.
The day started out with a private workshop led by the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s own
education department. The first section was a discussion curated by Director of Education,
Stewart Shelley where we discussed the importance of theatre within our communities. Stewart
shared lessons and skills he has learned over his 20+ years as a theatre educator, really focusing
on something that we here at Encore are big advocates for: life skills through stage skills. The
standout in this discussion was a line from Shakespeare that Stewart leaves with all his students,
“This above all: To thine own self be true.”
After Stewart’s discussion, the Festival’s lead teaching artist Marian helped us to understand
Shakespearean text through movement and punctuation. Encore young artists were able to
analyze the “Seven Stages of Man” monologue from As You Like It. Learning techniques for
understanding and then being able to see those techniques in action later that evening during a
performance of As You Like It is truly what Page to Stage is all about!
At the Seminar Grove the young artists participated in a seminar talk-back with two wonderful
performers from the Festival, Kayland Jordan (Rosalind in As You Like It) and Alia Shakira (Truvy in
Steel Magnolias). We talked with them about their process, the themes that have stood out to
them in their shows, and why theatre is important to them. It was an insightful and inspiring
discussion giving insight into what the life of working artists looks like.
We then took some time to enjoy lunch on the lawn and enjoy the atmosphere of the Festival
before heading into our first performance, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in the
Randall L. Jones Theatre. A fast paced, musical about the life of a gentleman who learns he is in
line, the bottom of the line, for a hearty inheritance. The show was creatively staged using trunks
and plants as all their set pieces and key props, really transforming the space and these items
through creative theatricality.
After the performance, the young artists had the privilege of a private Q&A with Rob Riordan (A
Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder). Rob was wonderful to talk to as he shared his
experience as an actor both on stage and film, and answered the young artist’s questions with
thoughtful consideration.
Courtesy of Southern Utah University, Encore was then allowed to enjoy the historic outdoor
Adams Theatre, the home of the Utah Shakespeare Festival from 1977-2015.
The evening events were just as exciting starting with a walk around the exhibits at the Southern
Utah Museum of Art and seeing two more shows! The first of the two was the Greenshow
performance of Mountain Wilderness, written and directed by longtime friend and supporter of
Encore, Britannia Howe. We danced and sang along with the performers and audience in a
celebration of love and life and the mountains!
From there, we found our way over to the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre for the
incredible performance of As You Like It, taking both the information from our morning workshop
and discussion with actor Kayland Jordan to see process in action.
We had such a full and fulfilling day at the Utah Shakespeare Festival and are grateful to the
acting company and staff for making this experience so wonderful!
