Talkin' With a Partner: Nancy VanReece of The Nashville Shakespeare Festival

Shilpi: Tell me about the organization.
Nancy: The mission of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival is to educate and entertain the Mid-South community through professional Shakespearean experiences.

Shilpi: What can you do for the community that some other organization can’t?
Nancy: The Festival accomplishes its mission through public performances and educational workshops for young people and businesses. The Festival employs the most talented theatre artists from around Nashville to help create unique and relevant productions and programs that stimulate the creative thinking and communication skills of everyone from business men and women to children throughout Middle Tennessee.

Shilpi: What do you look for when getting volunteers?
Nancy: Volunteering for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s productions is a unique experience that not only serves the arts community of Nashville but also exposes the volunteers to various aspects of the theatrical world. All talents are welcome throughout the year, whether they are as complex as carpentry or as basic as phone skills. Untrained, willing volunteers are also more than welcome to assist the Festival and learn about the things that make it the successful organization that it is today.
The Nashville Shakespeare Festival most commonly uses volunteers during its runs of Shakespeare in the Park. These end-of-summer shows, which are free to the public, depend heavily upon volunteers. These volunteers help with nightly setup, passing out programs, staffing the concessions area, collecting donations, and generally making sure that the things outside of the show itself run smoothly.

The Festival also needs volunteers for its annual Winter Production at Troutt Theater. Volunteers will usher and assist with concessions and box office duties. Ushers are needed both for evening performances and weekday morning matinees for school groups.

Shilpi: What skills and qualifications are essential for success in this organization?
Nancy: Are you a student or lifelong learner with an interest in theatre, theatre management, theatre production, or theatre education? A Nashville Shakespeare Festival internship can provide the real-world experience in professional theatre you’re looking for. Opportunities are available year-round, and your college or university may allow you to earn credit for your internship.

Office Interns are needed year-round, and the Festival offers ongoing (unpaid) internships for students and young professionals who wish to get hands-on experience in professional theatre management and non-profit organizations. Interns work directly with the year-round Festival staff. These responsibilities include Web and social networking site maintenance, database entry and management, Web research, and general errands and assist with general administrative duties.

We’re simply looking for people with strong organizational skills and attention to detail, an ability to work independently, good writing and communication skills, computer literacy, someone who’s flexible, a team player, and has the ability to handle multiple tasks. It’s also great if you have an interest in and/or knowledge of non-profit professional theatre and have your own transportation.

The hours are flexible. We are looking for someone to work 5-20 hours per week, Monday through Friday, between 9am and 5pm. Also possibly some night and weekend events.

Production Interns are needed for Winter Shakespeare and Shakespeare in the Park.
Production interns work as assistants or crew on the production. Production interns will be placed according to area of interest and availability of positions. Prior experience is preferred, but not required, and the hours are determined by duties.

Shilpi: Kenneth Blanchard once said, “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” What did you seek to conceive when you first started at the Nashville Shakespeare Festival? What about now?
Nancy: I’ve just been here for 2 years. The Festival began in 1988, with a dream of creating a Shakespearean theatre company in Nashville. A group of local actors produced the first free-of-charge Shakespeare in the Park production of As You Like It with a modest budget of $500 and no technical support. That summer, more than 1,000 audience members attended the six performances, and the Nashville Shakespeare Festival was born. During its twenty-one year history, the Festival has grown into one the region’s leading professional theatres and the local authority on the works of William Shakespeare. Each summer 10,000 to 15,000 audience members attend the Festival’s annual Shakespeare in the Park production at Centennial Park which is designed to be accessible to people from all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Since 1988, over 200,000 people have attended Shakespeare in the Park. As always, these fully-staged, professional productions are presented free of charge to the public.

Shilpi: If you couldn’t do this day in and day out, what would you do instead?
Nancy: I’ve spent my entire professional career ultimately helping artists find their voice and helping people that didn’t think they were artists fully realize the potential of their own creativity. I will always look for ways to do this.

Shilpi: What makes the Nashville Shakespeare Festival so totally and completely “cool”?
Nancy: We change lives by telling stories.

Shilpi: What’s the next big thing for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival?
Nancy: Shakespeare’s Case is a new play developed for the The Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s educational outreach. This one-hour production puts Shakespeare’s relevance on trial, with William Shakespeare himself appearing to argue his defense. Drawing scripts, props, and costumes out of his traveling case, Shakespeare pleads his case using his theatrical skill and magic to convince the jury that he is innocent of being boring, confusing, and irrelevant.

The proceeds of ticket sales to the World Premiere on May 29-30th will help keep the 22nd annual Shakespeare in the Park free! The play will be made available for schools throughout the mid-south during autumn 2009 and spring 2010.

And, the Saturday matinee is Cool People Care Day! We’re offering all Cool People a discount on tickets (just use code CPCD), and Sam and Stephen are tossing in a copy of New Day Revolution for those that pre-order tickets!