For Immediate Release: February 2, 2006
Media Contact: Lisa Higgins, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, 610.282.WILL x4

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University is currently the featured theatre company on the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) Web site at www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org.

The NEA's 'Spotlight on a New Generation' focuses on PSF's 2005 Linny Fowler WillPower Tour of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo & Juliet was part of Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.

"To receive an award from the National Endowment for the Arts is a significant achievement," says PSF's Patrick Mulcahy, producing artistic director, "and now to be featured on the NEA's web site is a singular distinction and a testament to the quality of our WillPower program."

The 2005 Tour was fully booked, performing for 29 schools in four weeks in October and November, reaching 7,236 students and educators-- a 30% increase from 2004. Many participants commented that this was WillPower's best tour ever.

"Your company brought professional theatre to an urban-city middle school--brave feat and it worked! Bravo!" --Teacher comment

WillPower is the only tour of its kind in Pennsylvania that features a company of a dozen artists performing classical theatre in tandem with workshops. WillPower fulfills, in significant measure, the educational component of PSF's mission, providing greater access to the arts by bringing Shakespeare to the next generation, including a culturally diverse array of students at underfunded, underserved schools throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Designed to help students explore and expand their command of language and literature, WillPower provides a direct experience of artistic expression through a series of hands-on workshops, followed by a live performance. Five-time Emmy Award winner Bob Phillips designed the set. Romeo & Juliet featured a company of highly trained and experienced actor/teachers who were directed by Russell Treyz, a Drama Desk Award winning director. Mr. Treyz has directed Shakespeare’s works at regional theatres and Shakespeare festivals across the country.

"... Now that I have seen how entertaining and exciting his plays can be, I appreciate Shakespeare's works a lot more. I cannot say enough good things about my experience." -- Student comment

Since its inception in 2000, WillPower has brought high-quality productions of Shakespeare to a wide range of schools, from center-city Philadelphia and Allentown to less-populated, rural communities in western Berks County and the Pocono Mountains. WillPower has reached nearly 40,000 students and teachers.

Hamlet has been selected for the 2006 WillPower Tour, scheduled to take place from October 11 through November 10. A professional company of ten to twelve actor/teachers, a director, scenic designer and costume designer, will work under the leadership of PSF's Producing Artistic Director, an accomplished theatre professional and award-winning teacher.

WillPower is recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development as an Educational Improvement Organization. Philanthropists Linny and Beall Fowler established an endowment to provide partial funding for the annual tour. Additional support for the 2005 tour was provided by DeSales University, Binney & Smith, Inc., Holt Family Foundation, Albert M. Iacocca, Lehigh Cement, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Ruth P. Seruga Foundation, Harry C. Trexler Trust and UGI Utilities, Inc.

The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University is the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth and a professional, not-for-profit theatre company. An independent 501(c)3 organization, PSF receives support from DeSales University and relies on contributions from individuals, government agencies, corporations and foundations. PSF is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, and a member of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia and the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America.

The National Endowment for the Arts: The mission of the National Endowment for the Arts is to enrich our nation and its diverse cultural heritage by supporting works of artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts, and strengthening the arts in communities throughout the country. Established by Congress in 1965, the Arts Endowment is an independent agency of the federal government and is the largest annual funder of the arts. Since then, it has awarded more than 120,000 grants in all 50 states and the six U.S. jurisdictions.

Arts Midwest: Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest enables individuals and families throughout Americas heartland to share in and to enjoy the arts and cultures of the Midwest and the world. Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest's history spans more than 25 years.

For more information on:

• Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University, call Lisa Higgins at 610.282.WILL [9455], ext. 4; www.pashakespeare.org
• Shakespeare in American Communities, visit www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org
• National Endowment for the Arts, call 202.682.5570 or visit www.arts.gov
• Arts Midwest, call 612.341.0755 or visit www.artsmidwest.org

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