University Expands Partnership with the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

Jul 11, 2009

News Release Courtesy of the University of Nevada, Reno

Skyler Dillon, Media Relations Intern

When the 37^th annual Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival opens July 11, the University of Nevada, Reno theater department will be able to take personal pride in the production. As part of a partnership that has been growing since last year, the University offered the use of its costume shops, scene shops and rehearsal space to the Festival for the summer. In return, University theater students were offered internships for the Festival’s summer season. 

Speech Communication and Theater Chair Rob Gander said the relationship is ideal, especially when both organizations are dealing with budget concerns. “It’s a partnership that benefits both while costing almost nothing,” he said. “And, we’re finding more and more ways to help each other out.” 

For example, Festival carpenters will work for the University when there is downtime during rehearsals at the production’s location at Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe, and the University will have access to Festival sets in return for storing them on campus. One of the most exciting benefits, however, is the internship program. To date, nearly 10 percent of University theater majors have completed internships, and that number will increase in the next few years. 

“It’s very rare for University students to get professional experience like this,” said Gander. “I would guess maybe a quarter of universities have affiliations with professional companies, but very few of those companies are on campus, building shows in university shops, as the Festival is with us.” 

Michael Livernash, a fine arts major with a minor in theater, was excited to learn he was accepted as a scenery intern. “I had a sense of accomplishment, but I also knew that it was going to be a lot of hard work,” he said. He was right. He and intern Benn Dyer, another fine arts major working on set design, have been putting in 13- to15-hour days as they rush to have everything ready before opening night. Dyer said that the experience he is gaining makes the stress worth it. “Throughout the build, I've been working closely with the professional crew,” he said. “I know each of them by name, and they me, and I'm readily eating up everything thing I can get from them.”  

Livernash agreed. “I’ve been learning very valuable skills in building scenery for future art installations, which I would like to keep working with,” he said. “Some of the work we’ve been doing I’ve never seen before, like working with Styrofoam to make a realistic Gothic arch.” 

According to Gander, that sort of experience is what makes the partnership so unique and valuable.  “It’s very hands-on, and very intimate,” he said.  

The Festival runs from July 11 to Aug. 23, with alternating performances Tuesday-Sunday of “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Measure for Measure” at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $22 and student discounts are available throughout the season. 

“The best part of this work is seeing everything come together and meeting everyone from all over the country,” said Dyer. “I’m excited to see the final product.” 

For more information about the University Theater program, visit www.unr.edu/cla/spth/theatre/faculty.html. To learn more about the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival or to buy tickets, visit www.laketahoeshakespeare.com.   

Nevada’s land-grant university founded in 1874, the University of Nevada, Reno has an enrollment of nearly 17,000 students. The University is home to one the country’s largest study-abroad programs and the state’s medical school, and offers outreach and education programs in all Nevada counties. For more information, visit www.unr.edu.   ###