Becky Boesen -- FSC's New Executive Artistic Director!

The Flatwater Shakespeare Company, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, is pleased to announce that Becky Boesen is its new Executive Artistic Director. She succeeds founding Artistic Director Bob Hall in the leadership of the not-for-profit organization.

Ms. Boesen brings an extensive resume as an administrator, producer, director, and playwright – as well as actor – to the job. Her past projects include original works such as In My Daughter's Name, Puddin' and the Grumble, and Catherland, and also directing Arthur Miller's The Crucible in a site-specific production at the Sheldon Museum auditorium. She is one of the founders of BLIXT, which now coordinates the Lincoln Arts Council's education and outreach initiatives, and has served as Creative Services Specialist with the Lied Center for the Performing Arts in Lincoln.

“I'm honored,” says Ms. Boesen, “to be selected as Executive Artistic Director of the Flatwater Shakespeare Company. I’ve had the joyful experience of acting and directing for Flatwater Shakespeare, and now again, find myself a direct beneficiary of the standard of excellence and achievement established by Bob Hall. I'm thrilled at this opportunity to add my own artistic vision to such an important Lincoln institution, and offer an ongoing promise of making the often hilarious, frequently heartbreaking, and ultimately timeless work of William Shakespeare accessible to every person in our beautiful community.”

Ms. Boesen has been an artistic associate with Flatwater Shakespeare throughout the company's history. During one of the first uses of Wyuka Stables as a performance space, she appeared as Maria in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, directed by Mr. Hall. After playing Arsinoe in Hall's adaptation of Moliere's The Misanthrope and Mrs. Page in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, she directed Flatwater Shakespeare's third summer touring production, a 1980s-themed Much Ado About Nothing.

Mr. Hall has extended his congratulations to Ms. Boesen on being selected by Flatwater Shakespeare's Board of Directors. “I wish her all success,” he says, “and will provide whatever support that might be wanted.” Flatwater Shakespeare's Board will work with Ms. Boesen in finalizing plans for the company's 2017 season, which will include another citywide tour and a Swan Theatre production.

Flatwater Shakespeare's mission is to entertain and educate audiences in Lincoln and surrounding communities through Shakespeare and other high quality theater productions. The company is especially committed to connecting youth, non-traditional audiences, and under-represented groups with the dramatic arts. Accessible and exciting productions of Shakespeare's plays can broaden the base for all theater audiences, enhance appreciation for the arts more widely, and facilitate meaningful dialogue across many social divides. Shakespeare's plays were selected by the National Endowment for the Arts as providing the richest “common ground” for American communities – a quality made evident in Flatwater Shakespeare's recent production of The Merchant of Venice, directed by Tom Crew, and its series of talkbacks addressing such issues as ethnic stereotypes, religious prejudice, and forms of discrimination.

Photo Credit: Christine Doell