SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL ST. LOUIS ANNUAL REPORT 2017

Cover Photo:Remember MeMaplewood, Missouri

© J. David Levy

A MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP

Dear Friends,

We hear all the time from artists and guests visiting from other cities that what we have at Shakespeare Festival St. Louis is special. The quality of our free performances, the commitment of our artists to sharing Shakespeare’s language, the size and excitement of our audience, and the beauty of Forest Park – all this comes together to create magic each June.

It truly is the “best for all” and you make that possible. Thanks to the amazing support of our community, free Shakespeare is thriving in St. Louis.

In the Schools Over 7,000 students experienced live Shakespeare performances in their schools thanks to our annual Education Tour.

In the StreetsThe Festival’s first-ever citywide Shakespeare in the Streets is a spectacular undertaking and our community is coming together for the premiere performances this June in downtown St. Louis.

In the ParkWe introduced St. Louis to one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works in 2017 with a new production of The Winter’s Tale that some critics called the best Shakespeare production they had ever seen. Over 40,000 audience members joined us for the adventure!

To all of you who made our 2017 season so impactful, thank you! We have much to look forward to in 2018 thanks to your continued support and generosity.

Penny Pennington Jennifer WintzerChair, Board of Directors Interim Producing Director

IN THE SCHOOLS

“What an amazing gift to our small rural school! We look forward to the visit from our friends at the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ Education Tour each spring. Some of our students proclaim thetroupe’s visit to be their favorite opportunity of the entire school year.” Pamela Halstead, Callao C-8

The 2017 Education Tour brought two shows to over 50 schools across Missouri and Illinois, reaching over 7,500 students. Our amazing team of five teaching artists performed Julius Ceasar, as well as a new play for young audiences by playwright Nancy Bell called Found At Sea. In addition to these 50-minute performances, these artists lead interactive workshops using the works of Shakespeare as a guide. The Education Tour allows many students to experience live, professional theatre for the very first time, particularly in our rural communities.

The Festival’s SHAKE 101 residency program continued in 2017 as our teaching artists engaged students in a week of workshops and performances designed to build confidence across academic disciplines. The Bard’s work also reached more students through summer camps and Shakespeare Squadron, our advanced acting group for teens. The Festival was selected to present at the 2017 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual conference. The workshop, Shaping Personal Narratives with Shakespeare and Students, was led by Education Tour veteran teaching artist Michael James Reed and John Snodgrass, a partner teacher from Scott County High School.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ 2017 Education Tour is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The Monsanto Fund sponsors Education Tour visits to rural communities The Education Tour also receives generous support from the Saigh Foundation, UMB Bank, the Dana Brown Charitable Trust, and First Bank.

SHAKE 101 was piloted with a generous grant from the Incarnate Word Foundation.

Faith Servant in the Festival’s 2016 Education Tour.

Photo © J. David Levy

In 2017, the Festival produced its first-ever citywide Shakespeare in the Streets for performances on the steps of the St. Louis Public Library’s Central Branch in downtown St. Louis. It was a spectacular undertaking with a year-long script development process led by Festival Playwright Nancy Bell, story circles across the city, original music, iconic St. Louis images projected on the façade of the Central Library, an 80-member cast including the Central Baptist Church Choir and the Gentlemen of Vision step team, and help from our partners at the St. Louis Public Library and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.

The culminating outdoor performances, scheduled for September 15-17, 2017, coincided with the announcement of the Stockley verdict on the morning of September 15. All three performances were cancelled due to the resulting civil unrest in downtown St. Louis that weekend. This was a setback, but our community is now coming together in an amazing way to bring the production back. Blow, Winds will return to the Central Library steps in downtown St. Louis for two performances, June 15-16, 2018.

The 2017 SHAKE 38 also found new ways to honor the Bard’s work. A Kick-Off event in collaboration with the National Photography Hall of Fame and Museum featured still photo representations of Shakespeare plays. 38 Eats also challenged local chefs and food artisans to create their own Bard inspired dish.

Shakespeare in the Streets: Blow, Winds is underwritten by PNC Arts Alive with additional support from the Whitaker Foundation, the William E. Weiss Foundation, the Strive Fund, Spire, and Spencer Fane.

“As much as we love our city, it sometimes breaks our hearts. And this year, we heard a little more about that heartbreak than we have before. It seems to be the kind of heartbreak that is born of abiding love, of a longing for things to be better, to be what we know in our hearts they rightly are…” Playwright, Nancy Bell

IN THE STREETS

Faith Servant in the Festival’s 2016 Education Tour.

Photo © J. David Levy

The Festival’s 17th season in Forest Park was highlighted by one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works. Associate Artistic Director Bruce Longworth led over 40,000 audience members on the fun but unpredictable journey that is The Winter’s Tale. A brilliant cast including veteran Shakespeare actor Charles Pasternak, as well as our incredible design team, crew, and hundreds of volunteers brought this performance to life in beautiful Shakespeare Glen. The production also continued the Festival’s commitment to diversity in casting and participation.

The Winter’s Tale was nominated for six St. Louis Theatre Circle Awards, including best Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy, Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy (Gary Glasgow), Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy (Rachel Christopher). Also nominated were Director Bruce Longworth and Sound Designer Rusty Wandall.

Leadership support for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ 2017 season is provided by the Whitaker Foundation. The Festival is also funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts & Education Council of Greater St. Louis.

The Shakespeare Festival St. Louis production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale isn’t just one of the best Shakespeare productions I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the best productions of any play I’ve ever seen. It’s superbly acted, beautifully designed, and directed in a way that shows a deep understanding of and respect for the text - something far too many Shakespeare directors seem to lack.” Chuck Lavazzi – ONSTL.com

IN THE PARK

Faith Servant in the Festival’s 2016 Education Tour.

Photo © J. David Levy

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis gratefully acknowledges all the sponsors and members who make our work possible. This list represents gifts of $1,250 or more made to the Annual Fund during fiscal year 2016 (October 1, 2015-September 30, 2016). We appreciate gifts at all levels and regret that we do not have space here to list them all.

Corporate, Foundation, and Government Donors

$50,000+Kiku Obata & Company * Monsanto Fundsw:tch *Whitaker Foundation

$25,000-$49,999City of MaplewoodEdward JonesEmersonThe Mary Ranken & Ettie A. Jordan Charitable FoundationRegional Arts Commission

$10,000-$24,999AmerenArts & Education Council of Greater St. LouisThe Gertrude & William A. Bernoudy FoundationThe Boeing CompanyBuckingham Asset Management, Inc.Bunge North America, Inc.Butler’s PantryGarden View Care CenterR.C. Kemper Jr. Charitable Trust - UMB Bank, n.a., TrusteeLarus CorporationMaryville UniversityMissouri Arts CouncilNational Endowment for the Arts/Art WorksNovus International, Inc.PNC Arts AliveThe Saigh FoundationThe Strive FundThe Trio Foundation of St. Louis

$5,000-$9,999AnonymousBland Family FoundationBryan Cave LLPEmployees Community Fund of Boeing St. LouisFirst BankThe Gatesworth & McKnight Place Extended CareClifford Willard Gaylord FoundationThe Graybar FoundationIncarnate Word FoundationPershing Charitable TrustSinquefield Charitable Foundation

St. Louis Public Radio | KWMU 90.7 FMStifelWashington UniversityWebster UniversityWells Fargo AdvisorsSuzanne Feld Zalk Charitable Trust

$1,250-$4,999Barnes-Jewish HospitalCLEAN: The Uniform CompanyCushman & WakefieldDaniel & Henry Co., Ins.Katharine Weston Dexter Charitable TrustDominium Management ServicesThe Dunagan Foundation, Inc.Harry Edison FoundationEnterprise Holdings FoundationEdward Chase Garvey Memorial FoundationJohn R. Goodall Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., TrusteeMargaret Blanke Grigg FoundationThe Haffenreffer Family FundThe F.B. Heron FoundationMissouri Humanities CouncilPeoples National BankEd & H. Pillsbury FoundationSeafoam Media, LLC*Straub’sTarlton Corporation

Individual Donors

$25,000+Alison & John FerringMont & Karen LevyPenny Pennington & Mike Fidler

$10,000-$24,999Jean Daniel-Gentry & Hal GentryMrs. Joseph F. GleasonJessica L. HolzerWard & Carol KleinNancy & Ken KranzbergChuck Miller & John HartJohn & Christy NickelIan & Ann PattersonRoy PfautchUlrike & Tom Schlafly, Sycamore Tree Charitable Fund of the St. Louis Community FoundationDrs. Sherman & Joan SilberBevis & Patience SchockRichard & Kathryn Winter $5,000-$9,999Barbara BryantDr. William H. DanforthBob & Signa HermannMalvika Jhangiani & Dipankar BandyopadhyayKim & Brendan JohnsonSally S. LevyTiya Lim & Chak LattanandEdward S. & Tedi MaciasMary MorganKiku ObataJohn H. RussellTerry & Sally Schnuck

Susan & David Sherman IIIBeverly Jo Slaughter & William WoodardTed & Julie SwardPam & Greg TrappSteven & Elise TrulaskeCarol & Tom VossMr. W. Grant Williams III, Williams Family Charitable Foundation of the St. Louis Community Foundation

$2,500-$4,999AnonymousTed & Robbie BeatyJames & Catherine BergesLeona Lee BohmHope & Julian EdisonSondra & Dan EllisLynn & Vinny FerrariWilliam FialaSarah HancockPatricia (Teesha) HernandezDiane & Bob KopitskyThomas E. LowtherMatt & Sarah MayerJohn & Connie McPheeters, Alex & Jenny McPheeters, Lizzy & Dave Rickard, & Katherine McPheetersJim & Merry MosbacherMarvin & Neva MoskowitzJim & Nancy MurphyDr. Rob & Kathleen Thomure

$1,250-$2,499Jack & Anne BaderMr. & Mrs. C. Larry BradfordBill & Penny BroderickDwyer P. Brown & Nancy ReynoldsSpencer & Phoebe BurkeDr. Debbie A. Depew & Mr. Brad MooreLeo & Kay DreyKim & Tim EberleinSara & Fred § EpsteinGretta Forrester, Gretta Forrester Family Fund of the St. Louis Community FoundationJanice & Bill ForsythLinda & Ben GoldsteinLida Wendover HigginsonNancy F. KalishmanStefanie & David LevensonJim & Jennifer LordDr. & Mrs. Jeffrey MarshBoo Kistner McLoughlinDaniel Phillips & Linda HorneCharles & Marian RiceJudith SmartSarah TrulaskeMark UtterbackRich & Kathleen WaidmannKim WalkerFranklin F. WallisBrandon & Cari WeggePhoebe Weil

∞ In Memoriam * In Kind

Earned 10%

Public 6%

Board 12%

Individuals 24%

Corporations 15%

Foundation 14%

Special Events (net) 4%

Releases of Restriction 2%

In-Kind 13%

!"#$%&$'#"%()*#"$

!"#$"%&'''(()'

*%+%$,&,+-'.'/,+,"%0'''1)'

23+4"%565+$'''78)'

Fundraising 14%

Program 77%

Management & General 9%

As the only free, professional theatre company in our region, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis relies on the generosity of our

community. Over 90% of total revenue came from contributions in 2016. A consistently high percentage of expenses, 77%

in FY2016, directly supports the Festival’s programming in the Schools, in the Streets, and in the Park. The Festival maintains

positive unrestricted net assets and finished FY2016 with a balanced budget.

2016 FINANCIAL REPORT

SOURCES OF SUPPORT

Revenues

Contributed Support: $1,448,116

Program Revenues: $158,926

$1,607,042

USE OF RESOURCES

Expenses

Program: $1,236,355

Management & General: $135,849

Fundraising: $231,502

$1,603,706

5715 Elizabeth AvenueSt. Louis, MO 63110Phone: 314-531-9800sfstl.com

Board of DirectorsAs of September 30, 2016

Penny Pennington, ChairChuck Miller, Immediate Past ChairThomas E Lowther, TreasurerBeverley Jo Slaughter, Secretary

Greta K. BrownBarbara BryantJean Daniel-GentryLinda GoldsteinPatricia HernandezJessica L. Holzer *Malvika JhangianiBrendan JohnsonPremchand KannegantiMont S. Levy *Tiya LimSusan LowtherThomas E. LowtherEdward S. MaciasMary MorganJohn K. NickelKiku ObataIan PattersonJohn H. RussellPeter SargentThomas F. SchlaflyBevis SchockLinda G. SealeDr. Sherman SilberJulie Thomas SwardPam TrappMichael W. WeisbrodAnthony WilliamsRichard L. WinterMarvin Moskowitz, Chairman EmeritusR. Crosby Kemper III, Founder

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis Staff

Rick DildineArtistic & Executive Director

Bruce LongworthAssociate Artistic Director

Jennifer WintzerDirector of Community Engagement and Education

Linda SchulteDirector of Development

Roze WolownikDirector of Operations

Susan HagenBusiness Manager

Tom MartinProduction Manager

Mary McHughPublic Relations Manager

Michael PerkinsEducation and Community Programs Manager

Alec SydlowMarketing Manager

Natalie PiperDevelopment Assistant

Nancy BellPlaywright-in-Residence