The Opera House Shakespeare Company Presents
The 2022 Opera House Shakespeare Festival!
Elgin Opera House - Elgin Oregon
Join us for a world-class Shakespeare experience in Eastern Oregon,
June 17th—26th, 2022!
Why you should donate $200 or more to our inaugural Shakespeare Festival!
Reason 1: For each $200, you’ll get a festival pass that gets you into every event in the festival, and that’s less expensive than you think! There are at least 13 scheduled events at the festival and at least one new event each of the 10 days! That’s $260 worth of entertainment for only $200! Donate $400 get two festival passes, and you’ll save over $100!
Reason 2: Your donation will allow us to make some events free to the community! We’re trying to raise $15,000. We’re asking our supporters to help us reach that goal. If we do, all of our overhead will be covered and we can stop worrying about breaking even and focus on reaching our entire community with this world-class experience
Reason 3: A well-supported inaugural season will open doors for even bigger things in the future. It’s understandably hard to get this across to American audiences, but our festival ambassador, Imogen Stubbs, is a HUGE deal in the UK. Having her here and launching a successful first year will pave the way for other actors of her caliber to come out too. If this first year really takes off, the sky’s the limit
Reason 4: it’s a chance to be a part of a truly unique event for our region! Every donor will have their name on each program, will be thanked at each performance, and feted at our special events. We’ll thank you every chance we get for your support!
Are you interested in contributing $200 or more to help us reach our $15000 goal?
Contact Kathy Bonney at 541-663-6324 or at kathy@elginoperahouse.com
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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The Two Gentlemen of Verona
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Othello - starring Bobby Bermea
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A Merchant of Venice
US premiere of a 6 character adaptation by Royal Shakespeare Company director Bill Alexander. -
Soldier On A staged reading
Plus: Festival Opening Night Party | Festival Gala | Tea with Imogen Stubb
Evening events Jonathan Guy Lewis, Imogen Stubbs & Bobby Bermea
Shakespeare Workshops
A staged reading of Soldier On, written by UK
actor and Playwright Jonathan Guy Lewis
(who will be with us through out the week working with our regional actors on the play)
An evening of conversation and Q&A with legendary British stage and screen actress
Imogen Stubbs. Also, join us for afternoon tea with Imogen.
Acclaimed actor Bobby Bermea joins the
festival playing the title role in Othello.
Schedule of Events!
Friday, June 17
6:00 - Opening Night Party with Bobby Bermea (VIP Ticket Holders)
7:30 - US premiere of A Merchant of Venice (Hale Turner Little Theater) (VIP Ticket Holders)
Saturday, June 18
2:00 - A Merchant of Venice (Hale Turner Little Theater)
5:00 - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera House Outdoor Stage)
7:30 - Othello (Jewel Theater)
Sunday, June 19
2:00 - Othello (Jewel Theater)
5:00 - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera House Outdoor Stage)
7:00 - A Merchant of Venice (Hale Turner Little Theater)
Monday, June 20
11 am -3 pm - FREE Kid’s workshop (Opera House Theater)
6:00 - Festival Gala (Opera House North Lawn) (VIP Ticket Holders)
7:30 - An evening With Jonathan Guy Lewis show the film Soldier On
(Opera House Theater)
Tuesday, June 21
11 am -3 pm - FREE Kid’s workshop (Opera House Theater)
7:30 - An evening with Imogen Stubbs talk about OTHELLO et.al
(Opera House Theater)
Wednesday, June 22
11 am -3 pm - FREE Kid’s workshop (Opera House Theater)
7:30 - Two Gentlemen of Verona (Opera House Theater)
7:30 - A Merchant of Venice 7:30 (Hale Turner Little Theater)
Thursday, June 23
11 am -3 pm - FREE Kid’s workshop (Opera House Theater)
7:30 - Two Gentlemen of Verona (Opera House Theater)
7:30 - Othello (Jewel Theater)
Friday, June 24
11 am -3 pm - FREE Kid’s workshop (Opera House Theater)
7:30 - A Merchant of Venice (Hale Turner Little Theater)
Saturday, June 25
2:00 - A Merchant of Venice (Hale Turner Little Theater)
4:00 – Tea with Imogen Stubbs (Opera House North Lawn)
5:00 - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera House Outdoor Stage)
7:30 - Othello (Jewel Theater)
Talk Back with Imogen and Jonny (VIP Ticket Holders)
Sunday, June 26
2:00 - Othello (Jewel Theater)
5:00 - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera House Outdoor Stage)
7:00 - Soldier On staged reading (Opera House Theater) (VIP Ticket Holders)
A Merchant of Venice
By William Shakespeare
(Adapted by Bill Alexander)
Hale Turner Little Theater
Fresh from the London stage, this is the North American premiere of the play!
A young man is in love with a wealthy heiress. To impress her, he borrows money from a Merchant, his best friend, but that friend too needs to borrow, as most of his assets are tied up. They borrow money from a local Jewish money lender, whom their prejudices forbid them from treating with respect. He agrees to loan them what they need, and as a joke, requests no interest, only a pound of flesh if the money can’t be repaid. All is well until the Merchant’s assets are all lost at sea…
Acclaimed director Bill Alexander (Olivier award winning director of The Merry Wives of Windsor, Richard III, The Snowman, and more) has taken Shakespeare’s biting comedy and condensed it down to six actors. Fast paced, edgy, and thoroughly modern, this production will cast a contemporary light on Shakespeare’s play and expose the bias in all of us.
Starring Kevin Cahill as Shylock
Othello
By William Shakespeare
Jewel Theater
Produced in tandem with A Merchant of Venice, Othello too, addresses the impact of bias and prejudice on people and society.
Othello a valiant black general, has secretly married the daughter of a well to do white Venetian. But before her unapproving father can wrench her back, Othello and she are sent to Cyprus, where he is tasked with quelling a military skirmish. The battle done, the newlyweds hope to settle in to domestic bliss, but “honest” Iago, Othello’s right hand man, because of his own jealousy, plants the seeds of her unfaithfulness.
This unflinching tragedy takes us with
Othello on his downward spiral,
as the sociopathic Iago uses race, status, and gender biases to manipulate Othello, and everyone around him.
With Bobby Bermea as Othello and Liberty O’Dell as Iago
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
By William Shakespeare
Opera House Outdoor Stage
Performed by the Opera House Youth Actors, this delightful comedy will be the perfect way to introduce young ones to Shakespeare
Set in the forest of Athens, three separate groups; a quartet of young lovers, a band of amateur actors, and the King and Queen of the Fairies (and their retinue), all intermix on a crazy, fantastical summer evening! When a magical potion is revealed, one that can make any person fall madly in love with the first thing they see, needless to say, high jinx ensue…
Directed by Anne Turner
Two Gentleman of Verona
By William Shakespeare
Opera House Mainstage
One of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, a youthful play by a youthful playwright.
“It’s all about what it means to be young, in love, and alive,” said Grant Turner, the production's director. “Think of it as Spring Break. Two young men (the title gents), best friends, leave Verona to explore the resort town of Milan. One is in love with a girl back home (who decides to follow him in disguise to keep an eye on him), the other is a confirmed bachelor (who has no time for women)! Well wouldn’t you know it, once arrived in Milan, the bachelor almost immediately falls for a girl, and the best friend, seeing his friend rave about his new obsession, decides to make a move on her as well! When his disguised girlfriend shows up, high jinx ensue...”