Cyrano's Theatre Company & Edgeware Productions

Anchorage, Alaska

Edgeware Productions is a cooperative of performing artists dedicated to introducing young people to Shakespeare in live performance. They perform and conduct residencies in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout south-central Alaska. One-to-three week residencies afford students the opportunity to study Shakespeare in depth, culminating in a public performance. Cyrano's Theatre Company is a professional theater in Anchorage , Alaska . They have held a respected position in Alaska theater since 1992 and have been recipients of the Governor's Award for the Arts in 1997 and 2005. In collaboration with Edgeware Productions, Cyrano's Theatre Company has produced a variety of classic and modern plays and was part of the Shakespeare for a New Generation in 2004–2005. Cyrano's Theatre Company encourages new works through their involvement with the Last Frontier Playwriting Conference in Valdez and hosts a monthly new play event for Alaskan playwrights.

Edgeware Productions and Cyrano's Theatre Company joined forces for the 2007–2008 Shakespeare for a New Generation initiative and, in collaboration, they produced a full-length Othello. In addition to this mainstage attraction, outreach to schools included daytime performances, as well as workshops and residencies. The production of Othello was in Alaska during the period under the Russian domination know historically as Russian American in the early 19th century. The title role was play by an Alaskan Native acgor. Parallels can be drawn between Shakespeare's settings of Venice and Cyprus and Russian Alaska's Sitka and a remote island in the Aleutian chain. Colonialism and racial tensions were rampant during this period of Alaska's history; unfortunately, the situation has not improved significantly over the centuries. Underlying a veneer of tolerance there is a disturbing undercurrent of race prejudice today in Alaska, and Alaskan Natives are too often disenfranchised and marginalized. High schools in the Ancorage area participated during the run of the show at Cyrano's Off Center Playhouse and the tour in the road reached schools in Cordova, Kodiak, Palmer, Seward, Talkeetna, and Yakutat.

Visit them at: http://www.edgewareproductions.com/

Feedback from Company

The highlight was not so much about the performance, but the reception we received from grateful peopel in these remote communities. One specific evnet resonates with all of us. In Yakutat, the St. Elias dancers performed for us when we arrived. This a a well respected group of Tlingit youth keeping tradition alive with the help of their elders. In addtion to dancing for us, Elder George Ramos told the story of the Tlingit peopel in this part of Southeast Alaska. During his presentation he asked if there were any registered Alaskan Natives in our compnay. Of course, Allan Hayton raised his hand and he asked to join George on the stage. Allan was presented with an eagle feather an asked why he had come to this land (this is the traditional greeting among native groups in Alaska). Allan responded, first in Athabaskan and then in English, that he had come to share a story. It was a deeply moving moment for all of us. Allan incorporated the eagle feather into his costume.