There are a lot of reasons why some performing artists involved in Des Moines’ “Shakespeare on the Lawn” have lovingly called it “summer camp for adults.”
Performing Shakespeare outdoors can be an athletic experience. There may be running, wind, rain, bugs, or even bats at sunset. Summer memories are made between old and new friends – including alums, students, and faculty from ISU Theatre. And for the audience, it’s pure summertime magic.
“Quite literally, you look up, and there’s the moon,” said Brad Dell, chair of the Iowa State Department of Music and Theatre. “To be able to do Shakespeare under the stars and have those moments is breathtaking.”
Inspiring the imagination
Produced in partnership with the Iowa Stage Theatre Company and Salisbury House and Gardens, “Shakespeare on the Lawn” runs for one week each summer, delighting its audiences with the magic of a William Shakespeare play.
It’s Shakespeare in paradise, said Dell, who has been involved in the event as an actor, director, and producer since 2011. Each night offers the fun and frivolity of a Dionysian theatre festival, with guests arriving hours early to enjoy food, wine, and interactions with the actors while relaxing in Salisbury House’s lush English gardens.
“There is so much joy happening even before a word of Shakespeare is ever said,” Dell said. “You’re in this place that just inspires the imagination. It inspires relaxation. It inspires revelry.”
A spectacular set at Salisbury
Minimal set design is needed when your backdrop and stage is the majestic Salisbury House in Des Moines’ historic South of Grand neighborhood.
“It’s Shakespeare in an utterly spectacular found space,” Dell said.
It also creates authenticity. In Shakespeare’s time, playhouses such as London’s Globe Theatre staged performances under the sky, with the audience and actors mingling together in close communion.
“The beginnings of the show are always a little bit awkward for both the actors and the audience because we don’t do it this way anymore,” Dell said. “It takes a moment for everybody to settle into, ‘Oh, this is how this works,’ but then they do. It is like taking theatre back to its essence.”
“It’s Shakespeare in an utterly spectacular found space.”
Instead of “seeing a play,” audiences in Shakespeare’s day would go “hear a play,” Dell said.
“‘Shakespeare on the Lawn’ allows that to happen because you are not in a theatre space, and your expectations are turned on their head,” he said. “You can hear and experience the words of the Bard in an even more authentic way.”
Creative partnerships
Dell said the success of “Shakespeare on the Lawn” comes from an innovative combination of resources, passions, and expertise from multiple organizations and generous supporters. It’s become a favorite summertime experience for ISU Theatre alums, students, and faculty.
Taylor Millar (‘17 performing arts) became involved with the event when she was a student at Iowa State. She was interested in directing opportunities, and while those spots were already filled that summer, Dell helped her land an assistant stage manager position. In summers since, she has performed as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet,” directed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and written original music for the performances.
Working on a summer show with a cast and creative team that often includes a few Cyclones does feel like “a big old reunion,” Millar said. A shared vocabulary comes from studying with the same professors or remembering the same costume designs.
“Shakespeare has a million references in his script. Iowa State is really good about teaching how to make different choices to try and figure it out.”
Millar and Dell are collaborating again on this summer’s upcoming production of “Comedy of Errors,” and over the years, they have established a strong creative partnership.
“Brad is amazing at big picture ideas, where my strength is small, little moments,” Millar said. “I will run a moment seven times until I think the hand is on the cheek at the exact right time.”
Bringing Shakespeare’s historical plays to life for modern audiences also requires problem solving and curiosity. Iowa State excels at encouraging its students to experiment, Millar said.
“Shakespeare has a million references in his script,” Millar said. “He has a million word choices that you have to dissect. You have to really dig and mine that text to be able to understand what’s going on. Iowa State is really good about teaching how to make different choices to try and figure it out.”
Old plays, new skills
Iowa State requires performing arts majors to complete two internships, and “Shakespeare on the Lawn” is now a destination for students seeking to develop acting, technical design, and stage management skills alongside professional artists.
Ashton Hale (‘25 performing arts) completed his first technical design internship during the 2024 production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
As the lighting and sound assistant, Hale learned how to focus lights, prevent weather damage to outdoor lighting, and expertly wrap tech cords. He also helped unfurl a banner from a Salisbury House balcony each night to announce the following summer’s show.
“My favorite part of theater is when new things are added to the production,” he said. “It was nice to contribute to a show like this from a technical perspective, as I am primarily an acting-based artist. I remember how excited I felt when lights were added to a tech run.”
Hale said his internship helped him develop new relationships with Iowa Stage Theatre Company and led to new employment opportunities on Fisher Theater’s electrician crew and in freelance lighting. He’s also returning to “Shakespeare on the Lawn” this summer for a lead acting role.
“Anyone who gets the opportunity to be involved in this project definitely should,” Hale said. “It was an incredible experience.”
Heart and humor
This summer’s production runs July 16-20. Shows regularly sell out, so keep up with future performances at salisburyhouse.org. As Shakespeare’s shortest play, “Comedy of Errors” balances heart and humor.
“’Comedy of Errors’ is really about homecoming, about somebody trying to find their community,” Millar said. “That, to me, is a very beautiful thing to be thinking about right now.”
Sidebar: Legends abound
Salisbury House has a few magical connections to Shakespeare. The wooden rafters in its great hall were acquired from the White Hart Inn in Salisbury, England. According to Salisbury House, it’s known that Shakespeare traveled to Salisbury, England, making it possible that he may have performed under those same beams.
Until 2019, the Salisbury House rare book library also included a complete second folio of Shakespeare’s works. Now owned by Grinnell College, the folio occasionally returns to Salisbury House on loan for special events.
“It’s just an incredible thing to be holding one of the original texts right here in central Iowa,” Dell said.