Based in Grand Haven, Michigan, the Pigeon Creek
Shakespeare Company was founded in the summer of
1998 by Chicago-area actor and director Frank Farrell
and a group of local West Michigan actors, including
current executive director Katherine Mayberry.
The company began performing the works of William
Shakespeare outdoors in the Ottawa County Parks
each summer. These performances included A
Midsummer Night's Dream, Love's Labour's Lost,
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the
Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and a hiking
production of As You Like It.
In December of 2002, the Pigeon Creek Shakespeare
Company began a Repertory Company which
consisted of a troupe of 5-11 actors who performed
programs of scenes from Shakespeare and his
contemporaries in non-traditional spaces, including
coffee houses, book stores, bed and breakfasts, and
churches. In 2007, the Repertory Company performed
its first full-length production, The Winter's Tale. This
production was also the company's first to travel out of
state.
The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company is an
Original Practices company which is dedicated to
bringing to its performances the authentic practices of
Shakespeare and his actors. These practices include
such performance elements as universal lighting (all
lights on), audience contact (speaking directly to
audience members), live music (performed by the
actors), and doubling (one actor playing multiple
roles).
2008, the company’s tenth anniversary, marked the
first year-long season for the Pigeon Creek
Shakespeare Company, and included five
productions: A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Macbeth, Richard III, As You Like It, and Twelfth
Night.
The company’s 2009 season included productions of
King Lear, Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors,
and Pericles. Julius Caesar went on the company's
first New York tour in the summer of 2009. The
company also conducted a unique residency and
partnership with Wayland Union High School to
produce The Winter's Tale in the fall of 2009.
Pigeon Creek's 2010 Season included productions of
Hamlet, The Tempest, Henry V, and The Merry
Wives of Windsor. plus the second residency
partnership, which brought A Midsummer Night's
Dream to Rogers High School in Wyoming, MI.
For information about booking the company, contact
executive director Katherine Mayberry at 616-850-
0916 or by e-mail at admin@pcshakespeare.com
Pigeon Creek also offers educational workshops for
students in secondary and university classrooms. For
information about booking educational programming,
contact Education Committee co-chair Michael
Empson at 616-403-1474 or by e-mail at
mike@pcshakespeare.com.
Shakespeare Company was founded in the summer of
1998 by Chicago-area actor and director Frank Farrell
and a group of local West Michigan actors, including
current executive director Katherine Mayberry.
The company began performing the works of William
Shakespeare outdoors in the Ottawa County Parks
each summer. These performances included A
Midsummer Night's Dream, Love's Labour's Lost,
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the
Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and a hiking
production of As You Like It.
In December of 2002, the Pigeon Creek Shakespeare
Company began a Repertory Company which
consisted of a troupe of 5-11 actors who performed
programs of scenes from Shakespeare and his
contemporaries in non-traditional spaces, including
coffee houses, book stores, bed and breakfasts, and
churches. In 2007, the Repertory Company performed
its first full-length production, The Winter's Tale. This
production was also the company's first to travel out of
state.
The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company is an
Original Practices company which is dedicated to
bringing to its performances the authentic practices of
Shakespeare and his actors. These practices include
such performance elements as universal lighting (all
lights on), audience contact (speaking directly to
audience members), live music (performed by the
actors), and doubling (one actor playing multiple
roles).
2008, the company’s tenth anniversary, marked the
first year-long season for the Pigeon Creek
Shakespeare Company, and included five
productions: A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Macbeth, Richard III, As You Like It, and Twelfth
Night.
The company’s 2009 season included productions of
King Lear, Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors,
and Pericles. Julius Caesar went on the company's
first New York tour in the summer of 2009. The
company also conducted a unique residency and
partnership with Wayland Union High School to
produce The Winter's Tale in the fall of 2009.
Pigeon Creek's 2010 Season included productions of
Hamlet, The Tempest, Henry V, and The Merry
Wives of Windsor. plus the second residency
partnership, which brought A Midsummer Night's
Dream to Rogers High School in Wyoming, MI.
For information about booking the company, contact
executive director Katherine Mayberry at 616-850-
0916 or by e-mail at admin@pcshakespeare.com
Pigeon Creek also offers educational workshops for
students in secondary and university classrooms. For
information about booking educational programming,
contact Education Committee co-chair Michael
Empson at 616-403-1474 or by e-mail at
mike@pcshakespeare.com.
Our History
| the Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company |
Katherine Mayberry as Viola in
Twelfth Night
(photo by Tim Motley)
Twelfth Night
(photo by Tim Motley)
Michigan's only year-round, touring Shakespeare company
copyright 2011.