| I am a professional actor from Toronto who's performing in Calgary for the summer. I made a point of taking in both Shakespeare in the Park productions, and I'm a bit alarmed by the reviews (and a letter) that I read in your publication regarding these shows.
Although I understand the points that the reviewers are endeavouring to convey, I found them to be most uncharitable. My understanding is that SITP is a company where students have the golden opportunity to perform Shakespeare for an audience, while learning from professionals at the same time. You could clearly see how hard those kids were working, and also how much they were enjoying themselves. It was also clear that the audiences were enjoying themselves, as they happily handed over donations following the shows. And from what I understand, the shows continue to be very well attended. I assume if people didn't enjoy the "concept" of the shows, they wouldn't be contributing. Perhaps Martin Fishman knows his audience.
No, for the purists, it's not the Old Vic – but it's fun, it's sincere, it's communicated well, and it's free to the public. Why trash kids? Why discourage them when they're only starting out?
I applaud Calgary for supporting what appears to me to be an incredibly valuable learning opportunity for young actors, and a highly entertaining summer evening for thousands of Calgarians.
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