Our home in Forest Park has never had a name - it's simply been "the site" since the beginning of the Festival. Now, Shakespeare Glen is our seasonal home. Along with the new name come new amenities. Next season you'll see changes - not startling, immense changes, but changes designed to improve both audience experience and production ease.
The Forest Park Advisory Board unanimously approved the project this summer, and construction is already underway. If you've driven by Shakespeare Glen lately, you've noticed bulldozers and orange fencing, and lots of bare ground. Rest assured the bare ground will be velvety grass by next spring, and underneath it will be new drains to keep the ground dry. The drains will be visible but such a vast improvement to the "Festival bog" that cheers will be in order.
Remember the ‘Bard Bog’ from last year?
Three major items are being completed this fall - the drains, the Missouri limestone wall with a berm behind it to provide a more level area for the stage, and permanent electrical connections. These improvements will eliminate the past need for industrial generators, which burn rapidly through fuel, digging drainage ditches to try to dry the bog, and will reduce long-term construction and operating costs. In addition, the hillside is being graded to direct the drainage and increase seating comfort and visibility.
As the project continues, 80 trees will be planted to form a natural sound barrier and frame the performance space and enhance the natural beauty of the site. Finally, the Festival will be able to add "Shakespeare Glen" to the directional signs in Forest Park to help our audience find its way to us.
The Festival is introducing a Capital Campaign to raise $1.1 million to pay for these improvements to Shakespeare Glen and other improvements. Approximately three-fourths of the total has been raised through October 2008. Naming opportunities are available. If you are interested in donating to the Capital Campaign, please contact Marilyn Spirt, our Managing Director for details.