As the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival prepares to celebrate its 15th anniversary with the production of Twelfth Night that opens Friday, it is grappling with major decisions that could change its fortunes.
After a decade and a half, the company has yet to establish a real foothold in Baltimore. It continues to struggle artistically and, as a result, doesn't attract a large audience. Many productions have been emotionally remote, or earnest and plodding. Directors have cast skilled actors but have failed to make the best use of their talents.
By summer's end, the company will hire a new artistic director, or chief administrator. If the board chooses the right person, the quality of shows is likely to improve, and the Shakespeare Festival could finally join the ranks of the city's major arts groups.
Choose wrong, and the company could flounder or, worse, continue to exist in the artistic twilight zone it has occupied for much of its existence.
The new artistic director also will decide if the festival will mount more contemporary works and fewer shows by the Bard.
"This is a transitional time for us," says Marilyn Powell, who next week will complete her term as the festival's chairwoman of the board of directors. "Sometimes, a huge sea change like this can put you on the path you need to follow."
The mere fact that the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival has lasted for 15 years is an accomplishment, given a climate in which most performing groups have life spans shorter than fruit flies. The festival draws an audience of roughly 15,000 each year, has an operating budget of about $500,000 and remains reliably in the black, according to Nicole Epp, the troupe's next chairwoman of the board. This summer, two shows will be staged in close succession for the first time: Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew, which begins performances July 18.
Staging Shakespeare can be a double-edged rapier: The classic comedies and dramas appeal to audiences and corporate sponsors, but it's awfully hard to do the shows well. The obstacles are especially daunting for small troupes, such as the Shakespeare Festival.
A look at the barriers in the festival's path, and its efforts to overcome them, can help explain why audiences nationwide see so much bad Shakespeare during the summer.
