CONTENTS 3. Welcome 4. Mission, Work, and Values 8. Opportunity, Vision, and Team 10. Cultural Placemaking 12. Community Engagement 14. Environmental Sustainability 16. Artist Lodging 21. The Campus: Long-Term Vision 24. Timeline 26. Campaign 27. Join Us in Our Next Act
Let’s create one of the most extraordinary open-air theaters in the world,
IN ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND IMPORTANT LANDSCAPES IN AMERICA.
“SAID THE RIVER: IMAGINE EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE, THEN KEEP ON GOING.” - Mary Oliver Shakespeare is a poet in touch with the power of place. His characters often embark on a journey from the court to the woods, from the pressures of politics and commerce to the clarity and possibilities of the natural world: a place where a process of discovery and transformation can take root. The Hudson River Valley is such a place, and has long been a wellspring of inspiration to poets, painters, writers, and musicians. The power of this place has shaped Hudson Valley Shakespeare (formerly the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival) throughout its thirty-seven year history. Now and for the first time, we will have a permanent, year-round home in the heart of the Hudson Highlands: Philanthropist Chris Davis has conveyed over 98 acres of breathtaking river-view land to HVS to be reimagined as an open-air theater campus with publicly accessible green space, picnic grounds, and a world-class, LEED Platinum performance venue designed by visionary architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang. Our new campus will empower HVS to serve as a vibrant hub for our local community, a yearround cultural anchor for the greater Hudson Valley region, and a model for environmental sustainability in the wider
landscape of the American theater, as we re-imagine the performing arts for the post-pandemic era. Mary Oliver is right: as it has for as long as anyone can remember, the river is asking us to open up our imaginations. We are heeding that call by embracing the power of place and creating a space where the experience of nature and culture is available to everyone. We are calling on our community once more to help us over the final hill, and transform this shared vision into a material reality that will nurture our region for generations to come. Warmly,
Davis McCallum Artistic Director
Kendra Ekelund Managing Director
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MISSION WORK VALUES
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Rooted in the landscape of the Hudson Valley, with the plays of William Shakespeare as our touchstone, HVS engages the widest possible audience in a theatrical celebration of our shared humanity. Founded in 1987, HVS is a critically acclaimed, professional, non-profit theater company based in Garrison, NY, one hour north of Manhattan. The Festival has established a reputation for lucid, engaging, and highly inventive productions – plays by Shakespeare and contemporary playwrights alike – staged in an open-air theater overlooking the Hudson River. By reaching over 35,000 audience members and more than 15,000 students and educators annually, the impacts of our work are broadly felt throughout the tri-state region. In recent years, we’ve toured to venues within the Hudson Valley, transferred productions to other regional theaters, engaged our community through radically participatory art-making, and connected with area schools through year-round education programming.
Excellence
Inclusion
AN ILIAD, 2015
Playfulness
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, 2019
Generosity
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, 2017
Sustainability
THE HEART OF ROBIN HOOD, 2018
RIP VAN WINKLE, 2018
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INTO THE WOODS, 2019
“IMPROVISATORY, FROLICSOME, AND OF OUR TIME.” Jesse Green The New York Times
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THE OPPORTUNITY Former Site Boscobel
THE VISION New Permanent Home The Garrison
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THE TEAM
The transfer from philanthropist Chris Davis encompasses over 98 acres on the site of what was formerly The Garrison: a golf course, inn, restaurant, and event venue. Between now and 2026, we are reimagining the parcel as an open-access theater campus with parkland, picnic space, trails, and a world-class performance venue – the first purposebuilt LEED Platinum theater in the country.
More than just a home for our theater company, though, we envision the new campus as a model for environmental sustainability in the performing arts, a vibrant hub for the local community, and a national arts destination. It will create opportunities to foster meaningful human connections at the convergence of nature and culture, at a time when our neighbors are most in need of inspiration and connectedness.
“I am delighted to have found the perfect steward for this extraordinarily beautiful land,” explains Mr. Davis. “HVS is a nationally recognized arts organization with deep roots in this community. With this transfer, we can assure that this place continues to be a positive force for the region while becoming a cultural hub for the Hudson Valley.”
A classical repertory theater that speaks to the present moment. For us, Shakespeare and the classics are more than texts; they are sites of inclusion and community, co-created by artists and audiences in the here and now.
An arts organization that values people over stuff. Our work springs from the most essential of elements – actor, audience, language, and landscape. We prioritize human relationships, and our people feel strongly invested in our success.
A year-round community resource for the people of the Hudson Valley. Our campus is an extraordinary space for gathering, and we actively share it with our neighbors as a public good.
Landscape Architect
Architect
Theater Consultant
A national model for sustainability in the performing arts. Ecological restoration, solar panels, rainwater capture, reduced embedded carbon and other design elements will minimize climate impacts.
Project Manager 9
PROJECT VISION
Cultural Placemaking
HVS’s mission is to engage the widest possible audience in a theatrical celebration of our shared humanity, and our new home will be a place of gathering and belonging, with the theater at its center. Improved facilities will support our commitment to artistic excellence, with a permanent open-air theater and backstage spaces to support it, as well as on-site artist lodging to ensure HVS is a place where the country’s best talent continually wants to work.
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OUR TOWN, 2016
The social isolation that we experienced during the pandemic must now be countered with community, and with artistic inspiration. Our expansive new campus will be an immersive arts destination, and will be one of the few significant theaters constructed in the years immediately following the pandemic. Our ambition is to create one of the most extraordinary open-air theaters in the world, in one of the most beautiful and important landscapes in America, and we
want this experience to be available to everyone. For that reason, we are designing the campus and its structures as models of inclusivity and accessibility, with an extensive institutional commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. All buildings will be fully accessible and ADA compliant, and the rolling parkland on the property will be available for passive uses such as walking and biking, as we transition a golf course to an open green space offered as an amenity to the public.
NEW CAMPUS IMPACT Artistic Excellence Permanent Open-Air Theater Improved Back of House Support On-Site Artist Lodging New Play Commissions Access for All Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Focus Comprehensive Accessibility Upgrades Common Ground Outdoor Gathering Parkland for Public Use
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PROJECT VISION
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Community Engagement
Our new home will enable us to grow from a seasonal festival to a year-round cultural anchor for the community. Our already robust education programming will wrap around the calendar year, and an extended performance season will allow for fall student matinees.
We will activate new partnerships with other Hudson Valley non-profits (environmental, Indigenous, historical, among others) through on-site programming to offer a truly intersectional educational experience for students. By sharing space with other organizations in our community, we will ensure that the campus serves as a year-round resource and local hub. We will continue to facilitate and produce
large-scale participatory theater, forging a more interconnected and resilient community through the shared experience of art-making. Finally, with complete ownership of our calendar and facilities, our regional impact is projected to grow 65% – to $7.6M annually by 2026. The effects of our relocation will be felt across industries throughout our community – in construction, hospitality, retail, and beyond.
NEW CAMPUS IMPACT Education & Outreach Student Matinees Intersectional Programming Year-Round Residencies On-Site Partnerships Collaborative Programming Space Sharing/Gathering Participatory Art-Making Workshops Community-Led Theater Making
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PROJECT VISION
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Environmental Sustainability
Chris Davis bought this land in the 1990s to protect it from development and to ward off the threat of suburban sprawl in the Hudson Highlands. Now, his visionary transfer allows this land to be preserved, while also transforming it into a vibrant asset to the community.
Our role as stewards calls us to care for this land on behalf of our community, by transforming the golf fairways to native meadows, reducing fertilizer and supporting biodiversity, planting new trees, rehabilitating wetlands and establishing an ecological maintenance plan for the entire site. As a theater, we will serve as a national model for sustainability in the performing arts, with buildings designed for environmental resilience and to minimize climate impacts.
The architecture itself is responsive to the environment, with materials from local and sustainable sources and a design inspired by the contours of the surrounding Hudson Highlands. In our everyday operations, we will be a field leader in climate action and green production practices.
NEW CAMPUS IMPACT Conservation/ Preservation Continuing Chris Davis’ Legacy Low-Impact Site Use Golf Course Restoration Ecological Maintenance Plan Native Plantings Wetland & Biodiversity Protections Climate-Smart Performing Arts LEED Platinum Theater Climate Resilient Design Sustainable Production Practices
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ROOTED: A Campaign for Our Permanent17 Home17
PROJECT VISION
Artist Lodging
HVS has retained award-winning architect Susan T. Rodriguez to design our on-site artist lodging. Envisioned as a small village of residences and communal buildings, this complex will be located just a short walk, bicycle ride, or golf cart drive away from our theater, as well as our new Rehearsal Studios which opened in 2022. Inspired by the timber-frame construction of traditional Hudson Valley architecture, our plans include a long barn-like structure with 16 single-occupancy studio apartments, and four four-bedroom cottages for families and groups of artists.
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Connected to the long barn building, we will create a communal hub where our artists can congregate and socialize as a company. This hub will contain shared laundry and exercise facilities, as well as community spaces for eating and relaxing together amidst a rigorous creative schedule of rehearsals and performances. More than just a place to stay during a gig at HVS, the lodging demonstrates our commitment to centering the health and well-being of our artists, empowering them to do their very best work, and offering them the opportunity for inspiration and renewal that comes with
a season in the natural splendor of the Hudson Highlands. Artistic excellence is at the very heart of our mission, and with our new 98–acre campus, we have the unique opportunity to design and create an environment that allows our artists to form a thriving creative community—supporting each other and learning from each other onstage and off, over the course of a season or many seasons. We also envision utilizing the artist lodging for residencies and retreats during the off-season, allowing us to develop and incubate work that will come to fruition in future seasons.
ARTIST LODGING IMPACT Centering and Nurturing our Artists More Competitive Artist Recruitment Animating the Campus Year Round Environmental Sustainability Commissioning and Developing New Work Off-Season Revenue Anchored in Philipstown Operational Transformation
ROOTED: A Campaign for Our Permanent Home. 02 19
“THIS GREEN PLOT SHALL BE OUR STAGE.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act 3, Sc. 1)
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THE CAMPUS Long-Term Vision 10 15 14 13 11
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1. Theater 2. Back of House 3. Concessions and Restrooms 4. Picnic Lawns 5. Entry Road 6. Pervious Parking Lot (225 Spaces) 7. Welcome Center Box Office + Picnic Pickup 8. Welcome Garden 9. Rehearsal and Administration 10. Parking - Staff (45 Spaces) 11. 5 Artist and Guest Lodging Buildings + 1 Amenity Building 12. Pavilion 13. Wedding Venue 14. Restaurant 15. Existing Guest Lodging 16. Existing Parking Lot (94 Spaces) 17. Pervious Parking - Staff + Overflow (80 Spaces) 18. Future Residence
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CAMPAIGN Site Restoration & New Theater Facilities
$10M
OAL MG
$33.7M
$62
Artist Lodging
$7.8M Design & Planning
$5.9M Capacity Building
$4.6M Increased Reserves
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CYMBELINE, DIRECTED BY DAVIS MCCALLUM, 2019
PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR NEXT ACT BY PLEDGING YOUR SUPPORT TODAY. Your backing at this crucial stage will determine the extent to which we can achieve our vision. Help us reshape the cultural landscape by making a formal campaign commitment. To support the campaign or to request other materials, including a list of naming opportunities, please contact: Kendra Ekelund, Managing Director kekelund@hvshakespeare.org
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ROOTED: A CAMPAIGN FOR OUR PERMANENT HOME Credits: All maps and renderings courtesy of Nelson Byrd Woltz, Studio Gang, and Susan T. Rodriguez Architecture & Design. P2-3: Photos by Amy Brown. P4-5: Photos by T. Charles Erickson, Gabe Palacio, and Richard Termine. P6-7: Photo by T. Charles Erickson. P8: Photo by Ashley Garrett. P10-11: Photos by Gabe Palacio and Amy Brown. P12: Photos provided by Nelson Byrd Woltz. P26-27: Photo by T. Charles Erickson.
Hudson Valley Shakespeare P.O. Box 125, Garrison, NY 10524 hvshakespeare.org @hvshakespeare 845.265.9575