artistic & executive directors’ message
Claire Sakaki and Christopher Gaze | Photo: David Cooper
Welcome to our Season Program. For the first time in thirty-one summers, we can’t physically give you a Program as you enter through the gates of our Festival, and we are so disappointed that we can’t meet you in the space we love, to share in the excitement and joy of the unique Bard experience. But while we are not in the Park, we still cherish our Bard family – all of you who are have shared in what we’ve created together and who are helping us to build a bridge to the future. In this 2020 Program, we’re recognizing and saluting you for your contributions and commitment to the Festival. The experience of the pandemic and its damaging impact on our organization has become a remarkable testament to loyalty and resilience. Our company of artists, crew and staff were stopped in their tracks when we made the painful decision to suspend work on the season’s four plays, yet so many of those same people are bringing their creative ideas and energy to our new online projects. Our 2020 ticket buyers have inspired us with their faith in our future; over eighty percent of them have deferred their Season and Flex Packs to our 2021 season or converted them into a donation to Bard. Our donors – our Member family – are embracing the new virtual experiences we’re offering in lieu of traditional Member events. Many of our 2020 sponsors and partners have stayed on in Board of Directors spite of the Season cancellation, giving strong support in new ways. President Our precious volunteers are still connected and engaged with us, John McCulloch ready to contribute their time and their passion again in 2021. We Vice President are immensely grateful for all these contributions. In particular, we Darlene Howard thank our charitable benefactor, the Vancouver International Wine Treasurer Festival, for its unwavering support of Bard. Kostya Polyakov Secretary Shona McGlashan Past President Jim Bovard Directors Rebecca Catley Douglas Clarke Mark Fancourt-Smith John Geddes Glenn Ives Beth Macdonald Derral Moriyama Marlie Oden Arv Sooch Douglas Welch
There is other value in this unprecedented period, as it has given us the time and space to actively listen to the community we serve and the artists we work with. This will help us embed even more deeply the values and practices of equity, diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our organization. Theatre is our lifeblood and we are focused on the time when we can once again stage Shakespeare’s plays and the works his genius has inspired. But for now - read on, be entertained and inspired by this commemoration of 2020, and know that we will bring your Festival back to you next year!
Christopher Gaze, Artistic Director
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Claire Sakaki, Executive Director
