Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

'M. Bard' Tour Set

From Shakespeare's cannon of lyrical miracles came M. Bard, Arkansas Repertory Theatre's 1995-1996 educational touring collage, which was performed at Prescott High School auditorium on Friday, February 23. All juniors and seniors from Nevada, Emmet and Prescott were invited to participate. The tour was sponsored statewide by Southwestern Bell, Metropolitan Life Foundation, Union Pacific Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, Little Rock Dodge and Chrysler Corporation, The Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Featuring magic and tragic snippets of William's finest, this 50 minute collage highlighted six of Shakespeare's greatest works, the "M" plays -- Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Merry Wives of Windsor. Brad Mooy the creator and director of The Rep's Collages stated: "The six plays that comprised M. Bard explore Shakespeare's extremes, from heroines to villainesses, from tragedy to farce, and offered the uninitiated ample opportunity to explore the dynamics, emotional and comedic truths prevalent in so much of his writing.

Local sponsors helped support the efforts of the Nevada County Arts Consortium. The group of contributors has provided area students in Prescott, Nevada and Emmet Schools with a variety of plays, a mime, an American Indian, an opera singer, a storyteller, a puppeteer, dancers and other performances over the last five years. Each time a child has an experience with the arts their horizon is broadened. Our local contributors are the backbone of the cultural experiences our children are exposed to each year.

A special thanks is extended to each of the following contributors: Prescott Firestone Community Fund, Tri-Service Club, Prescott Rotary Club, Friends of the Library, Nevada School District, Prescott School District, Nevada School PTO, and several private donors.