The Washington Shakespearean Festival Announces Its Newest Production, To Each Their Own, Produced Fully Online During COVID-19

The Washington Shakespearean Festival is announcing its newest play, “To Each Their Own,” a new-writ Shakespearean-style comedy featuring online talent from three continents and five time zones, using revolutionary production techniques in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

GregRobin Smith, Founder and Managing Director of The Washington Shakespearean Festival, says, “We’re bringing together decades of experience to our different roles: acting, research, production, and composition, and blending our talents to create a world together, even though we as individuals are continents apart.”

The list of actors includes Taylor Reich of Oklahoma City, OK; Elizabeth Loranth of Boston, MA; Kendra Hesketh of Vancouver BC; Kate Vosper of Tasmania, Australia; Becky Lyn Gil of Bothell, WA; and Chief KISHIMBO of Tanzania, East Africa. Smith says, “Many of these actors have lost the main way they have to get exposure and perfect their craft. This play will give them an audience.”

“Producing the play in this manner means we can appeal to an international audience as well as a global cast,” Smith says. A stage manager is coordinating the actors so they can rehearse together. Additionally, the actors are being taught how to film themselves and produce sound. A professional production team will master the video and sound files, conduct final edits, and deliver the final soundtrack for the production, to be broadcast on YouTube June 1.

The play may be released all at once, in three parts, five separate acts, or in 22 separate scenes, each premiering on a weekly basis, following the model of a television show.

Smith has written more than 2,000 sonnets, as well as several Shakespearean-style scripts. After years of studying the elements common to Shakespeare’s works, he collected and combined them with a new plot to create this play. “To Each Their Own,” extensively features Shakespearean tropes.

The production house is calling on Elizabethan Theatre lovers to contribute to the telling of this story, by purchasing sponsorships in order to provide financial support in exchange for earning rewards and being listed as Producer, Executive Producer, or Associate Producer.

The plan is to distribute $2,000 to the cast and crew as honorariums. The cast and crew totals 25, and funds are also needed for props, costumes, a soundscape, and advertising. If more is raised in addition to that, those honorariums will be increased and some funds will be directed to The Washington Shakespearean Festival’s next production.

“It is my hope that, once produced, and once the world opens up again, Shakespearean Festivals and educational theatres will take a look at “To Each Their Own,” and perhaps create a place for it in their seasons,” Smith says, “That is my very personal dream for this project.”