Georgia Shakespeare turns 20

COMPILED BY JENNIFER J. HEWETT

Carolyn Cook and Chris Kayser starred in Georgia Shakespeare Festival’s 2003 production of “Much Ado About Nothing.” (Photo courtesy of Georgia Shakespeare.)

With 20 years of performances, the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, based at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, celebrates its birthday with a new name: Georgia Shakespeare.

Founded in 1986 as the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, the not-for- profit regional theater company produced its first 10 years of summer repertory theater in a tent on the grounds of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. In 1997, the festival moved indoors, to the Conant Performing Arts Center, which seats more than 500 patrons. The company, known for taking classic [William] Shakespeare productions and adapting them to different timeframes or styles, appeals to contemporary audiences.

“The 2005 season marks a new era,” says Managing Director Robert A. Fass. “We’re moving forward by enabling Georgia Shakespeare to present works by Shakespeare and other enduring artists throughout the year, not only from the Oglethorpe campus, but also from public parks to regional theaters and schools. We’re expanding our presence in the community and reaching new audiences.” Georgia Shakespeare plans to extend its education outreach program, adding traveling performances for 35,000 students in elementary schools throughout Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Florida.

In addition to works by Shakespeare, their 2005 season features works by Anton Chekhov and Tennessee Williams. For more information, visit www.gashakespeare.org, or call (404) 264-0020.

Big on Southern charm, the Ballastone Inn in Savannah is an Italianate-style historic mansion featuring 16 guest rooms. (Photo (c) 2004 The Ballastone Inn/Nancy Heffernan.)

Ballastone Inn wins top honors

Savannah’s Ballastone Inn was named one of 2005’s “Hideaway of the Year” Grand Award Winners by Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report, a leading travel publication featuring reviews of luxury accommodations around the world. The Ballastone Inn was one of 25 properties in the world and one of the eight properties from the United States that was honored in the competition.

The Ballastone, a historic bed-and-breakfast mansion built in 1838, was restored and furnished in 1980. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the inn will be featured this spring in an upcoming segment on low-country cooking on Public Broadcasting System affiliates, as well as in a Savannah feature set to air on Turner South Broadcasting.

For more information on the Ballastone Inn, call (912) 236-1484, e-mail info@ballastone.com, or visit www.ballastone.com.

Archives receive musical artifacts

In an effort to help document Georgia’s musical history, Joseph Johnson, curator of music and popular culture at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame (GMHF) in Macon, met with members of the Catoosa County Historical Society in Ringgold. Among the items acquired by the GMHF archives were photographs, music recordings and a 1950s mandolin. For more information, visit www.gamusichall.com.

Georgia glimpses

• The largest flower show in the Southeast returns this month to Atlanta as the Southeastern Flower Show blooms at the Georgia World Congress Center, March 2-6. Featuring more than 30 landscape and educational gardens, including 18 British gardens and 2,000-plus juried entries, the show offers speakers, demonstrations and workshops on gardens, floral design and landscaping. For more information, call (404) 351-1041, or visit www.flower show.org.

• Georgia welcomes the world’s top golfers to Gwinnett County during the Bellsouth Classic, held March 28-April 3 at Sugarloaf Country Club in Duluth. The tournament, one of the biggest in Georgia, is the Atlanta stop on the PGA tour. For more information, visit www.bellsouthclassic.com.

• Gwinnett County resident Angela Elizabeth Speir made history this past January as the first woman elected to chair Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC). Speir, a Georgia native, was raised in DeKalb County and graduated from Agnes Scott College. She then served as the assistant administrator at the United Methodist Children’s Home medical center, providing medical aid and counseling to abused children. Speir began her six-year term as a PSC commissioner in 2002. For more information on the PSC, visit www.psc.state.ga.us.

• Young artists wanting to enter their hand-drawn or -painted creation of a North American duck, goose or swan as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Georgia Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition have only a few weeks remaining to submit entries. The competition promotes wildlife conservation among students in grades K-12, and offers the Best-of-Show winner a chance to compete for national scholarships up to $5,000. Entries are due March 15; for rules, forms and a list of eligible species of waterfowl subjects, call (706) 613-9493, or visit athens.fws.gov

Did you know?

The Georgia Capitol Museum, located on the top floor of the State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta, preserves the history of the Capitol itself, alongside significant historic artifacts, flags and works of art. The museum is open to the public Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.sos.state.ga.us/museum.