History of SOF
The concept for Shakespeare on the Fox was developed in the English Department of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh by Kay Roberts and Jeanie Grant Moore, both specialists in British Renaissance literature. Roberts and Moore convinced Chancellor Richard Wells to pursue a partnership with the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton and the Grand Opera House, in Oshkosh. Representatives from the two performance venues had never sat at a table together before partnership discussions began. In 2003, the idea of reaching the community in a venture that included both education and performance fired the imaginations of the organization heads, Susan Stockton, president of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, and Joe Ferlo, executive director of the Grand Opera House. The American Players Theatre joined the partnership in 2004 after the first event was staged, and in 2005, representatives of the Fond du Lac Arts Council, the Fox Valley Symphony, the Oneida Nation Arts Program and Lawrence University became Shakespeare on the Fox participants.
At this point, the Shakespeare on the Fox partners have successfully presented three Shakespeare on the Fox programs. The first in January 2005, featured the St. Petersburg Ballet with Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Claire Bloom’s Women of Shakespeare. English and Theatre classes on the UW Oshkosh campus participated in this event. The second event centered around the American Players Theatre production of Macbeth and included workshops on the campuses of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Lawrence University. The third event was based on the American Players Theatre’s presentation of Romeo and Juliet and the Fox Valley Symphony’s performance of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. The APT again conducted workshops on the UW Oshkosh campus.
See the Schedule of Events for a listing of Fall 2007 Shakespeare on the Fox performances of The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, lectures and workshops, all of which will be open to the public.
