About Us
Mission
The Great River Shakespeare Festival produces thoughtful, articulate, engaging productions of Shakespeare’s plays, and contributes substantially to the cultural, social, and economic life of Winona, the midwest, and the United States.
Production History:
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
The Winter’s Tale
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Intern/Apprentice Company: As You Like It
Much Ado About Nothing
Richard III
Intern/Apprentice Company: Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night
Romeo and Juliet
Intern/Apprentice Company: Cymbeline
As You Like It
Macbeth
Intern/Apprentice Company: Julius Caesar
Merchant of Venice
Taming of the Shrew
Intern/Apprentice Company: Pericles
Love’s Labour’s Lost
The Tempest
Intern/Apprentice Company: Pericles
You can always reach us at:
Great River Shakespeare Festival
79 East Third St., Winona, MN 55987
(507) 474-7900
You can also send us an email, using this contact form!
Or, click here to Subscribe to the GRSF email newsletter
Coming Soon!
Please be patient while we continue to develop our new site.
Press Contact:
Dionne Laviolette
507-474-7900 ext. 120
dionnel@grsf.org
We’re getting a lot of good notice about the Festival and the 2009 season. Here are some links to sites where you can read all about GRSF.
Minnesota Theatre- Hamlet. July 23, 2009. “The Intern and Apprentice Acting Company’s production allows its audience to experience Hamlet in a way that really lets Hamlet shine. It is also a very good showcase of some young actors who are able to rise to the demands of one of the world’s great plays.” Read more.
Shakespeare and Film: A Microblog- GRSF: Six Performances in Search of an Audience. July 22, 2009. “You’ll just have to go see one of the six remaining performances yourself. And you should.” Read more. You can also read a review of Love’s Labour’s Lost here.
Winona Daily News- Quartet of young actors share classic Shakespeare role. July 20, 2009. “Hamlet. It’s the dream role of most any actor. And it’s a dream role four young actors are all getting this summer, thanks to the creative casting of Rick Barbour, director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival Intern/Apprentice Company’s Hamlet.” Read more.
Winona Daily News- Signing Shakespeare: GRSF offers signed performances. July 18, 2009. “You don’t have to be able to hear Shakespeare’s words to enjoy Shakespeare’s works.” Read more.
Post Bulletin- Spend a Day with the Bard. July 16, 2009. Article about the “Friends of Will” organization in Rochester. Read it here.
Minnesota Theatre- The Tempest. July 16, 2009. “But long after leaving the theater, I’m still applauding the production for telling such a compelling story.” Read more.
Winona Daily News- Musical memoir ‘Daly News’ comes to Shakespeare Fest. July 11, 2009. “The play gives Shakespeare audiences used to seeing Daly in roles like Richard III, Shylock and Prospero a chance to know Daly in a more personal way.” Read more.
Fillmore County Journal- Shakespeare Returns to Southeastern MN. July 10, 2009. “One gets the feeling that the entire festival is a labor of love from the company to its audiences.” Read more.
Minnesota Theatre- Love’s Labour’s Lost. July 8, 2009. “This production stands strongly on its verse, and Shakespeare’s verbal power and this company’s skill and charisma rise to the occasion and make Love’s Labour’s Lost a rousing success.” Read more.
MinnPost- Great River Shakespeare Festival: a great way to spend a day. June 29, 2009. “‘The Tempest’ moves quickly (it’s over in a little more than two hours) and does a fine job of bringing the audience inside Shakespeare’s world — and showing everyone that it’s not too scary in there.” Read more.
Winona Daily News - Festival Hits Stride in Season Six. June 29, 2009. “The opening of “The Tempest” gave me goose bumps…For those of us who’ve told friends to give Shakespeare and the festival a chance, we’re glad season six proves we were right to make the recommendation.” Read more.
Winona Daily News- The Right Direction: Shakespeare Festival Starts Sixth Season. Interview with Producing Director Paul Barnes and Associate Directors Alec Wild and Doug Scholz-Carlson. Read it here.
Pioneer Press- Winona is Shaken’, too. June 26, 2009. Info about the season. Read it here.
Minnesota Public Radio- Art Hounds: Tennessee Williams, Nora Labiner, Shakespeare in Winona. June 25, 2009. Kathy Peterson, the arts administrator at Winona State University and is also the chair of Theatre Du Mississippi, talks about GRSF. GRSF segment begins at 3 minutes, and the interview features music of Gregg Coffin from 2009’s production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. Listen here.
Winona Post- Myth: Shakespeare is academic - not here. June 24, 2009. Interview with veteran GRSF Actors Chris Mixon and Jonathan Gillard Daly. Read it here.
Playbill- Great River Shakespeare Fest Has Love’s Labours, Tempest and Hamlet June 26-July 26. June 23, 2009. Casting news and details about GRSF ticket sales. Read it here. This article was also referenced on Yahoo! News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/playbill/20090624/en_playbill/130479
Star Tribune- On Course: Travel Q&A, Shakespeare on the river and more. June 20, 2009. Details about opening weekend. Read it here.
Winona Daily News- Opinion Column: Jim Galewski: Here come the cuts, followed by headlines- June 19, 2009. Says he originally thought a Shakespeare Festival wouldn’t work in Winona, and admits he was wrong. Read it here.
Post Bulletin- Sales Surge for Winona Summer Festivals- June 18, 2009. Despite the current economic situation, the Beethoven and Shakespeare Festivals are still having great success. Read it here.
City Pages- Great River Shakespeare Festival Putting Fair Winona on the Map- June 16, 2009. Examines the ties between Winona and the Festival, as well as (brief) history of the Festival. Read it here.
Minnesota Playlist. Bike, hike, swim, theater. June 15, 2009. Article about things to do in the region by a a former GRSF intern. Read it here.
Minnesota Playlist. Winona Hugs Us. June 15, 2009. GRSF Producing Director Paul Barnes writes about forming the Festival in Winona. Read it here.
Minnesota Public Radio- Theater Blooming all Across Minnesota- June 10, 2009.Mentioned in a discussion of summer theatre companies, but implied that it was better than regular “summer stock” Listen here.
Minnesota Public Radio- Events Calendar- June 3, 2009. The Great River Shakespeare Festival is advertised on the MPR homepage, with a link to details about the event. See it here.
Winona Post- Editorial: GRSF Arrives!- May 12, 2009. Summary of First Company Meeting. Read it here.
Shakespeare Bulletin- In a retrospective article, Dr. Peter Saccio discusses each of the plays he has seen at GRSF. He praises the precision of the text work, the training of the actors, the insight of the directors, and closes by saying, “what I saw at Winona was so rich that I wished I could see another performance of each…. I wanted instant replay of these nuanced narratives with their precise language, their sudden lightning-stroke revelations of personality, and their sinuous drive.” Buy tickets for Peter Saccio’s Front Porch event!
Check out some of our current press releases!
5-30-09 GRSF Receives Grant from NEA
5-27-09 2009 Workshops for Teachers
5-27-09 2009 Shakespeare for Young Actors
5-25-09 GRSF Company Arrives for Sixth Season
4-23-09 Shakespeare Comes to Eau Claire, Wisconsin Middle School
