Kittson O’Neill

As Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP) is preparing for its 11th summer season, the company has announced that a West Philadelphian was appointed to a key role.

Kittson O’Neill, an actress and director who made her SCP debut last summer when she directed the 10th Anniversary production of The Winter’s Tale, has been named as the Artistic Director. She succeeds Marla Burkholder, who co-founded the company in 2005.

O’Neill has appeared on Philadelphia stages often and currently can be seen in Or, at Hedgerow Theatre. When directing The Winter’s Tale, she brought together professional actors, more than 20 local children, and an unforgettable bear puppet. The show drew almost 5,000 audience members to Clark Park.

“Kittson’s commitment to both a strong and progressive artistic vision and a high level of authentic community engagement makes her a great fit for Shakespeare in Clark Park,” says John Frisbee, SCP’s Board President.

We asked Kittson about her background, her relationship to West Philadelphia and her plans regarding Shakespeare in Clark Park, including community engagement. Her answers are below.

Q.: Where are you from and where in West Philadelphia do you live?

I was born in Connecticut and grew up there and in Western Australia (My Mum is Australian). I now live in Mantua in West Philadelphia. My son attended St. Mary’s Nursery School and, as a result, our family has a number of great friends who live all over West Philly.

Q.: What interests you in Shakespeare in Clark Park? Should people expect any changes?

There are so many things I love about Shakespeare in Clark Park!

In 2015 O’Neill directed SCP’s The Winter’s Tale, which featured children and a giant bear puppet (Photo West Philly Local).

Shakespeare’s plays are epic in scope: they have bears and battles and shipwrecks! It can be challenging to fully realize those elements inside a traditional modern theater, but out in the park you can embrace the huge and have an eight foot bear, or a hundred person army, or giant waves. I am excited to keep pushing our productions to use the size and freedom of the park setting: to be even more spectacular! But even more than the size of the park, I love the audience that it naturally attracts. The show is free. Seating is unrestricted and as a result we often attract watchers who hadn’t even planned to see the show. Who didn’t even know the show was happening. Every night, there is at least one audience member for whom it is the first Shakespeare they have ever seen. That’s an amazing gift to us as theater makers. And a responsibility we take seriously. We want that unexpected audience member to leave our show loving Shakespeare and hungry to see more.

There won’t be any serious changes to what we do. “If it ain’t broke…” However, show is getting REALLY popular and dealing with the crowd we attract is becoming an exciting challenge, so you can expect some experiments with seating and staging as well as some new approaches to the fine art of ushering!

Q.: Community members, both adults and children, participated in the last two SCP performances. Will this trend continue?

Most definitely! I believe strongly in Radical Community Engagement, so over the next few years I will be working to weave the fabric of our community into the productions in a variety of ways. SCP attracts some of the finest theater talent in the city of Philadelphia. Putting the community on stage with those actors and inside the work of our designers and directors is an electrifying and galvanizing experience and one you won’t get any where else in our fair city. So stay tuned for a lot more on that front.

UPDATE (5:05 p.m.): Due to the rain, Thursday’s performance will be held indoors – at Drexel University’s Mandell Theater (33rd and Chestnut). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please note that no picnics are allowed inside.

A new production by Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP) company, The Winter’s Tale, kicked off on Wednesday in the park’s Bowl (43rd and Chester). A huge crowd gathered for the opening night (see photos below) and enjoyed the great summer night atmosphere, superb acting of both adults and children cast in the show, and a few surprises (including the bear scene on the Bohemian seaside pictured below). A couple of food trucks and carts were also on hand for one of the summer’s best neighbor-watching opportunities.

If you missed the opening, there are four more shows remaining – through Sunday, Aug. 2. More information about this year’s production is available here. Shows start at 7 p.m.

UPDATE (7/29/15): The Winter’s Tale shows kick off tonight at Clark Park at 7 p.m., and according to a new announcement from Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP), they will be raffling gift cards from local businesses:

Heads up! Every night of the #WintersTale we will be holding a raffle of some great gift cards generously donated by local businesses.

— SCP (@shakespeareincp) July 28, 2015

Also, don’t forget to bring your blanket or chairs, some picnic food (and drinks!) and a little bit of cash (if you can) for a donation. Donations help this awesome event return each summer.

Free outdoor Shakespeare in Clark Park shows draw big crowds to the “Bowl” near 43rd and Chester (archived photo/West Philly Local).

Shakespeare in Clark Park (SCP) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this summer with five nights of The Winter’s Tale, a tragicomedy of family and forgiveness. The annual popular outdoor theatre event that draws huge crowds of both locals and guests, returns on Wednesday, July 29 to Clark Park’s “Bowl” near 43rd and Chester.

Those who attended last year’s Henry IV shows must remember the epic battle scenes performed by a crowd of some 100 volunteers from various Philly neighborhoods (it’s truly hard to forget!). This year, a chorus of over 30 Philadelphia-area schoolchildren will perform along the company’s professional actors. Chorus members were selected after spring auditions.

The young performers are an integral part of the show; along with the audience they’re witnessing the triumph and failure of the adults. According to Director Kittson O’Neill, “The Chorus of Children not only helps perform The Winter’s Tale, it also allows the audience a way into this foreign world… It’s a tale of generations and how consequences are often felt most strongly by the next generation.”  Continue Reading

Shakespeare in Clark Park is looking for young performers for this summer’s production of The Winter’s Tale. The production requires young singers, dancers, puppeteers and actors (ages 5 to 15). An information session will be held Wednesday, March 11 at the University City Arts League’s second floor meeting room (4226 Spruce St.) at 6:30 p.m. Attendance at the meeting is not required to audition.

Speaking of auditions … those will be held this Saturday, March 14, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Curio Theatre (48th and Baltimore). “Bring a song if you sing, or your instrument if you play,” the audition call reads. “Or just bring yourself and come tell us a joke! No experience necessary — just the willingness to play.”

For more information, check out the Shakespeare in Clark Park website.

Due to rain, tonight’s Henry IV show, which was supposed to take place in Clark Park, will be held at the Penn Ice Rink at 3130 Walnut Street. The show still starts at 7 p.m. Follow Shakespeare in Clark Park on Twitter (@shakespeareincp) for updates.
 

This year’s edition of Shakespeare in Clark Park debuted last night with a staging of Henry IV. Whether you are a Shakespeare or theater fan or not, here are five reasons you should get yourself down to the bowl (the remaining shows are on Thursday through Sunday, July 31-Aug 3, at 7 p.m.) :

5. Refreshments alfresco

Shakespeare in Clark Park always offers a good excuse to pack a picnic basket and a blanket or just grab an ice cream from the truck and chill to the sounds of Old English Early Modern English echoing through the bowl.

4. Music

In addition to the terrific acting, this one features some pretty sweet period choir-type tunes and instrumentation.

3. Terrific acting

These folks put on quite a show. For Free! (Although a donation at the end is much appreciated).

2. Community

This may be the number one neighbor-watching event of the year. All kinds of folks dig Shakespeare in Clark Park.

1. The epic battle scene.

We doubted that the battle scene, which features about 100 people from 36 neighborhoods around the city and dramatically gets underway about an hour in, could live up to the hype. It does – and then some. Smoke, swords, screaming, battering rams, barricades … seriously, you have to see this.

Photos by West Philly Local.