By Arianne Chamberlain

REXBURG — For the last four years, Rexburg Community Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park has been an anticipated theatre event in Rexburg. Each summer, passionate actors, directors, and choreographers have gathered to put on free productions of different Shakespearean works. Coming up in April, auditions for their summer Hamlet production will be open.

Shakespeare in the Park was first established by members of Brigham Young University Idaho’s English Department, largely headed by Sam and Jesse Head. With goals to bring the community together and promote a love of Shakespeare, talented actors and producers gathered in 2023 to put on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

When asked about what gave them the idea, Sam said it was inspired by other community theatre productions, like Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, that he and his wife, Jesse, saw in their college years. Later, when they were both on the board for Rexburg Community Theatre, they decided it was the perfect opportunity to do something similar.

“We like theatre,” Sam says. “We like Shakespeare, and we wanted to bring more Shakespeare to Rexburg.”

Going into “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the Heads’ main goal was to bring a fun Shakespeare event to Rexburg—that was free.

“We wanted the barrier of access to be lowered—for Shakespeare to be something for everybody.”

Getting everything together to make “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” possible would take a monumental amount of effort, and the community came through. A combination of Rexburg Community Theatre, grants, and volunteer efforts helped the Heads’ vision come to life. One of Sam’s favorite things to see was “the community coming to support this, over and over again. This is a crew of unpaid people donating time, effort, and means.”

Despite the efforts put in to make the production possible, they didn’t expect a large turnout. But “if there were only twenty people,” Head said, “then we would perform for only twenty people.”

However, to the surprise of everyone involved, at least a thousand people came over the time the show ran. The project was a huge success. Shakespeare in the Park went on to perform “Macbeth” in 2024 and “Twelfth Night” in 2025, and has quickly become an anticipated annual tradition. This summer will be no
exception.

In March, the Rexburg Community Theatre page proudly announced that their next project, “Hamlet,” was opening for audition applications. This production will be directed by Jake Taylor, who has been an active member of Shakespeare in the Park in the years prior.

Brandon Price, a fight scene choreographer for “Hamlet” this year and the actor who played Malvolio in last year’s “Twelfth Night,” thinks that Shakespeare in the Park is a wonderful opportunity to bring people together.

“I love the community that comes together to put on these different stories,” Price says. “I’ve made several friends while doing this, and I love that people are excited about the art of theatre and Shakespeare.”

Price encourages anyone interested in joining to give it a shot.

“Audition with the talent you are given and see what happens,” he says.

Even for those who don’t make it into the main production, Shakespeare in the Park hosts pre-shows and educational presentations, making lots of opportunities to get involved.

Auditions will be held Friday, April 24th from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, April 25th from 9 to 11 a.m. in the basement at 56 Professional Plaza. Prospective participants can complete an application and sign up for an audition time slot on RCT’s website.

Those auditioning should memorize a 60-second Shakespeare monologue. During the audition, participants may be prompted to perform the piece in different ways, to show off their dramatic range.

For more information on auditions, Shakespeare in the Park, and other Rexburg Community Theatre opportunities, visit their website or their Facebook page.