The Virtual
New Mexico Shakespeare
festival
“To beguile the time, look like the time”
The Festival is adapting to the COVID world by continuing to work with our actors to produce work that honors Shakespeare and the role his work has to play in the present day. We have released two videos we created over the past couple of months as we lived in the depths of the COVID lockdown. One has the theme of "Isolation" the other of "Courage" as explored by William Shakespeare.
We know we are now living in a crucial time in the fight for racial justice. Our conversations about how the art we make must meet this moment, and reflect the sea change we hope to see, have already begun, and we are excited to share those projects with you in the future. If you are interested in joining us in those conversations, we welcome you. And we will see you next summer with our productions of “Hamlet” and “Twelfth Night.”
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Mission
Shakespeare in Albuquerque
Meet the Team
The New Mexico Shakespeare Festival presents Shakespeare’s plays, free to the public, in a beautiful outdoor setting, and creates educational and other outreach programs designed to bring the pleasure of Shakespearean performance to as wide an audience as possible. We believe that the Shakespeare’s plays belong to the community, and in the community. We seek to use these great plays to build a sense community among the diverse elements of our audience, and between them and the professional artists in our company.
The New Mexico Shakespeare Festival presented by the Vortex Theatre and the City of Albuquerque is one of only 14 free Shakespeare festivals in the nation. We believe a great city produces great theatre, and that there is no better venue for that than the beautiful Veterans Memorial Park where we perform, and the plays of William Shakespeare as acted by our company of professionals. Check out our lineup and be a part of a creative and dynamic city.
Hamlet is directed by Peter Shea Kierst, and Twelfth Night is directed by Ana Maria Campoy of Seattle. Artistic Director Kierst said, “Having previously appeared in and directed Hamlet, I’m pleased and excited to bring it to our festival audiences. The addition of Ms. Campoy to our team this summer will enable us to create a Twelfth Night that really speaks to our New Mexico patrons.”
Find out more
Congratulations to the following actors who have been cast in this season's New Mexico Shakespeare Festival:
The Cast of Hamlet
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark Augusta Allen-Jones
Ensemble Daniel Paul Anaya
Ensemble Victoria Apodaca
Ensemble Alexandra Avila
Guildenstern Kainon Orion Bachtel
Ensemble Scott Bing
Claudius, King of Denmark Chad Brummett
Horatio Owen Reid Callis
Fortinbras, Prince of Norway Graydon Clarke
Polonius, Lord Chamberlain Marc Comstock
Ghost/Player King Joseph Dallacqua
Gravedigger Neil Faulconbridge
Lucianus, Ensemble Caedmon Holland
Ensemble Justin Holt
Hamlet Sheridan K. Johnson
Laertes Nicholas Johnson
Ophelia Caitlin Kelly
Player Queen Catalina
Bernardo, Ensemble John P. Lopez
Rosencrantz Owen Danan Martin
Marcellus Stuart Neef
Ensemble Angelica Rivera
The Cast of Twelfth Night
Viola Virginia Benitez-Jones
Lady Olivia Fabianna Borghese
Sea Captain Curio Chavez
Feste Ed Chavez
Malvolio Debi Kierst
Duke Orsino Allison Letterman
Fernanda, Musician Joy "Jess" Liesveld
Sir Toby Belch Elizabeth Olton
Sir Andrew Aguecheek Kellen Paine
Antonio Anastasia Price
Priest, Musician John Rollinger
Maria Abigail Ropp
Curio, Officer Two, Musician Jayce Ross
Valentine, Musician Jonathan Salazar
Sebastian Pete J. Sheldon
Officer One, Musician Andrea Zamora