Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival

In 2022, hvsf performed its second summer season of open-air performances at its new location in garrison, ny. Our season included productions of henry v directed by artistic director davis mccallum, loves labors lost directed by amanda dehnert, and a world premiere of a new musical, penelope, composed by alex bechtel, co written by eva steinmetz and grace mclean, and directed by eva steinmetz. The season reached over 13,500 audience members through in-person attendance, and saw a return to full attendance capacity following the release of covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

The annual hvsf new play development series occurred in august, and development workshops included hvsf 's commissioned "untitled agatha project" by heidi armbruster, "memnon" by will powers and directed by carl cofield, and "madea: re-versed" by luis quintero. In collaboration with processional arts workshop and multiple local organizations, highland lights returned for a second year, a unique blend of art and nature inviting community engagement through free public workshops. These workshops, held from march to april, provided participants with the opportunity to craft lanterns using wire-forming, decoupage, and led lighting techniques. The program reached its peak with a glowing outdoor procession, lighting up the garrison paths with a community-created display of lights and lanterns.the bake-off community playwriting series resumed in person in november 2022, in partnership with five local libraries with writing workshops attended by 78 people and received over 42 play submissions. Six plays were selected for the final reading in the fall. The 2022 theme was "love never dies in memory" a response to our inaugural 2022 season at the garrison. Both highland lights and the "bake off" are a part of hvsf 's full circle initiative to build and sustain community through radically participatory art-making.

In its 28th year, hvsf's well-established education program successfully resumed most in-school activities, marking a significant step forward since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. Our team engaged with over 10,000 students across more than 20 schools in the tri-state area through 383 in-person workshops and residencies led by teaching artists. Recognizing the ongoing safety challenges of hosting large gatherings in educational settings, we adapted by offering a streaming version of william Shakespeare's "a midsummer night's dream," directed by matthew saldivar, as an alternative to our traditional live school tours.