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Show _M_O_ND ~ A _Y~,~JU_L_Y_6~,_19_9_8_•_T_H~E UNIVE ~ ~R_S_IT_Y~J_O_U_R_N_A_L_ • _SO_U~T~HE_:_:.R~N_U~T~AH...;..,.._u_NIVE~-R-SI_T_Y~~~-:-::,~?.::::'-'~-=-:-:~-=:--"-""'-=~-1rIBIIE .J1JR?tJr§ 0 ~ Doug Baker returns to Utah Shakesperarean Festival . It's been eight years since Douglas H.. Baker last worked the magic that would create the Utah Shakespearean Festival's Royal Feaste and the framework for today's version of The Greenshow-but thjs year, after workjng his magic elsewhere, he is back at the Festival. Back then his tricks involved turning barn wood and pine boughs into makeshift props. and changing student entertainers into renaissance hosts to a wonderful banquet. He also turned one Greenshow stage into three and transported visitors back in time to the world of Shakespeare in preparation for the Festival's nightly productions. Baker practiced his magic for seven years in Cedar City, c.ich season more spectacular than the last. Then he took his magic to another stage. for the past eight years, he has been the wizard of all wizards, workjng his spells as Merlin in the Excalibur Hotel's production of King Arthur's Tournament in Las Vegas. His magic has been the highlight of more than 4800 shows for over sLx million people. This season, The Greenshow and ·n1e Royal Feaste are back under the direction of Baker, who promises to bring back a little of that old, familiar magic-along with a few new tricks that arc up his sleeve. When Baker started working as an associate professor of theatre at SUU in 1982, he was hired as the instructor for acting and voice classes. His involvement with the Festival came in a round-about way through the university's department of continuing educ:i.rion. Under the direction of Phillip C. Carter, he was put in charge of organizing the first Renajssancc fca~c. He wrote the script, designed props :i.nd banners, and, with the help of a kw swdcnts, passed out Oycrs in local hotels advertising the production to summer tourists am.I Festival patrons. After two successful se:i.sons, the feast became a regular Festival offering and Baker was hired to direct the production and The Greenshow. "When I started, there were no assist:i.nts, no choreographers, and I wrote all the material by mysdf, " Baker said. "Because of the time rcstrainrs, there was only one one-hour rehearsal for the feast . The company was much smaller then and there was only one stage." . "When I started, I wanted co make The Greenshow experience the opposite of a show. r didn't want the people to sit through one show, then gel up and go into the theatre to watch another show. It had to be more than that." With his return, Baker brings that same philosophy to TI1e Royal Feaste and TI1e Greenshow. "l11ere are four concepts that I want to bring to these productions: First, the Festival is the people's Festival. They need to be a part of it. Second, most of the audience has to travel a long distance to be here. The Greenshow is a celebration of their arrival. It's a party for them. ·nurd, we try co get people's ears used to hearing a different language, to get them tuned in co what they will be he:i.ring in the plays. Finally, we want to take them to a different place-somewhere completely different from where they were before they c:i.me. " As for creating a different place, patrons can attend TI1e Greenshow every night and never see the same thing. While the time frame is less than an hour each night, Baker is producing three different greenshows. each with three different centers of attention. In addition, various perforn1ers will be present at different times during the season, including vocal groups and bell ringers. "Including all the greenshows and the feast, there is more than ten hours of material produced-that's quite a lot of material," Baker said. Baker's return to the Festival is a welcome one for the staff. "We arc very excited to have him back. I think veteran patrons are going co be pleasantly surprised; they'll see a lot of the old Greenshow's fun acts, characters and audience intcractjon, and The Royal Feastc is going to be extremely exciting," says R. Scott Phillips, managing director for the Festival. "Doug brings a great deal of energy, creativity and commitment to making sure the audience has a good time," Phillips says. "He prepares the audiences to enjoy the plays. He involves the people so that they have fun and so they can prepare themselves to hear and understand the language. On top of that, he's really a nice guy to work with." , The return to Cedar City must be a welcome one for Baker, since he is willing to work it into his busy schedule workj_ng five nights a week in his role as Merlin in Las Vegas. For him, it adds up to a lot of long hours at work an<l on the road. He says the work is very demanding, but very rewarding. The Greenshow is presented, free to the public, at 7:30 p .m. each night of the Festival in the courtyard surrounding the Adams TI1eatre. The Royal Feaste is conducted Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday throughout the season at 5:30 p.m. Reservations by 12 noon are required; earlier, are strongly recommended. Tickets are available through the FestivaJ Box Office, & Cotnpany f Thank You Cedar City for Makin.g Us #1! 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