CEDAR CITY — If there’s one thing I love about being part of UTBA, it’s conducting interviews. Just when I think that I know everything about the Utah theatre world, somebody that I interview teaches me something new. My interview with R. Scott Phillips, the executive director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival is the perfect example of this. For twenty minutes, I sat down with Phillips and talked about the history of the Utah Shakespeare Festival. During our conversation, we topics like the Festival’s growth, its 2000 Tony Award for Best Regional Theater, famous actors who have worked at the Festival (including one current cast member whose voice you’ve heard on TV), the volunteers who make the magic on stage possible, and much more.

Watch the video below for the full interview. You’ll be surprised at the stories that Phillips tells. More importantly, you’ll hear about the Festival and its past from one of the people who had a large role in shaping it into what it is today.

Part 1 of 2:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9gI-AwF3Uc]

Part 2 of 2:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajq6xW8ckbY]

Please also visit our reviews of the Festival’s 2011 productions: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, The Glass Menagerie, Noises Off!, and The Music Man. We also have an interview with three actors from the Festival’s current company.

Update: Watch Utah Shakespeare Festival actors talk about their roles.

For more information about the Utah Shakespeare Festival, visit www.bard.org.