Shakespeare in the Ozarks Kicks Off Premiere Season in Eureka Springs

To be or not to be, that is the question. For John Merritt, however, the answer is an overwhelming yes.

On Saturday, July 19, the newly formed non-profit Shakespeare in the Ozarks, in collaboration with TheatreSquared, a professional theatre company from Fayetteville, will kick off its first season with a special performance of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in Basin Spring Park in Eureka Springs.

Shakespeare in the Ozarks is being spearheaded by Merritt, a longtime patron of Shakespeare festivals.

After relocating to the area, Merritt saw a vacuum he felt needed filling.

"When you Google 'Shakespeare festival,' over 90 hits in the U.S. come up," Merritt said. "However, there are no seasonal outdoor open-air festivals at all in Arkansas."

Merritt said his vision for Shakespeare in the Ozarks is committed to two basic tenets: To strive for high quality productions that will garner critical acclaim, and to create an outdoor venue that is as close to the core of downtown Eureka Springs as possible, in order to maximize its positive impact on the community.

"I believe there is something quite transformative about experiencing a live Shakespeare performance outside in a pleasant park setting, especially in the evening," Merritt said. "Half the fun is staking out your own personal space with blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets to relax in anticipation while waiting for twilight to fade and the stage lights to go up. The other aspect I feel is critical is having the venue located centrally so that it feeds on and contributes to the energy and vitality of the Eureka Springs urban experience."

Shakespeare, perhaps the most famous writer in history, penned at least 36 plays between 1592 and 1611, including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Othello and A Midsummer Night's Dream, a romantic comedy portraying the adventures of four young lovers and a group of amateur actors, and their interactions with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest.

The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.

Merritt cited Eureka Springs' mild climate, natural scenic beauty and historic context, as well as its nationally recognized arts culture, as factors making Shakespeare in the Ozarks a natural fit with the city.

The group's long-term vision is to provide a venue that complements the Arts and Cultural District master plan for North Main Street, which includes a section of Grand Avenue terminating at Harmon Park.

Merritt wants to eventually reinstate an open air theater in Harmon Park, the site of an old summer auditorium.

While there are no plans to reconstruct the elaborate 1890s structure, demolished for salvage during the 1930s, the historic site retains a dished-out ampitheater earth-form that has great potential for an intimate theatre experience.

Performances on the site would take advantage of the natural acoustics of the dramatic natural rock outcropping behind the audience area.

In addition to Shakespeare productions, Merritt hopes the site could be used for other community productions and collaborations, including children's theatre.

For the moment, however, and by way of introducing the idea of an outdoor Shakespeare festival to the community, a one-hour adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed Saturday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Basin Spring Park, and Sunday, July 20 at 5:30.

The performances are free to the public and patrons are encouraged to bring their own chairs.
The alternative rain venue will be at Gavioli Chapel.

Information courtesy of Lovely County Citizen
Image courtesy of Legends of America