Shakespeare_in_the_Ozarks

Continuously active since 1970 as a free-lance actor, director, teacher, designer, organizer and writer, Keith began his career in the theatre as an actor with Shakespeare-in-the-Parks in Portland, Oregon. He acted with that company until 1975 when he assumed the position of Artistic Director, and served in that capacity until 1982. That company still exists and thrives. For the next few years Keith worked with every theatre in Portland and many in Seattle. He has now performed in almost 200 plays and directed nearly 100. From 1993 to 2008, Keith served as Artistic Director of the Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon for which, in addition to directing plays, he created new English texts. Keith is also known for his Chautauqua programs on W.B.Yeats, Shakespeare, the Greeks, Eliot, Joyce, and many more.

John is a native of Texas and is a retired architect living in the Eureka Springs area with wife Jean after moving from Portland OR in 2005. John received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972.

Shortly after relocating to Eureka Springs and realizing the potential of the ideally suited environment for outdoor Shakespeare productions, John began formulating a vision for SitO which included the creation of a community performing arts stage presence in Harmon Park. This concept is tied to the history of Eureka Springs and would reinstitute this site as a community gathering place for stage productions and recall its past as the location of the Summer Auditorium that stood at the turn of the 20th century.

After receiving her degree in English from The University of Texas at Arlington, Jean taught high school English in the Fort Worth Public School System and later at a private school in that area. When Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers moved their headquarters to Fort Worth, Jean went to work in their English Acquisitions Department. Most recently she served as Editor of the Patriots’ Herald newspaper in Eureka Springs, 2007-2008.

Jean’s enthusiasm for the works of Shakespeare springs from her love of literature and language, and her hope is that Shakespeare in the Ozarks will provide a rich cultural opportunity for residents of Eureka Springs and throughout the region.

Shakespeare in the Ozarks is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit arts organization located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The Board of Directors of Shakespeare in the Ozarks is committed to the development of a nationally recognized, fully professional outdoor Shakespeare Festival located in the historic town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We believe Shakesepare in the Ozarks can be a catalyst for a whole new level of cultural development, activity and promise in NW Arkansas.

In the years ahead, Eureka Springs and her visitors can look forward to full seasons of professional theatre in the loveliest corner of Arkansas, presented by Shakespeare in the Ozarks.

As our audience and funding base grow we will proceed to the next phase: a fully equipped stage house with outdoor lighting for evening performances and, eventually, terracing and fixed seating.

In pursuit of our objective to develop a new generation of Shakespeare appreciators, Shakespeare in the Ozarks will create a schools program so that students from around the region may appreciate the works of the greatest writer in the English language as they were intended to be delivered -- on a stage.

The future of Shakespeare in the Ozarks is boundless: touring productions, guest productions, educational programs and workshops, schools programs, satellite programs -- if it can be done, Shakespeare in the Ozarks will do it.