About Shaker Bridge Theatre
Now in its third season, the Shaker Bridge Theatre in Enfield, New Hampshire, is dedicated to discovering and creating provocative contemporary theatre. This is theatre created by a passionate director and talented, vital artists for today's audiences. Our goal is to expand the boundaries of theatre in the Upper Valley and Lakes region of New Hampshire by presenting work that is contemporary, compelling and innovative. These are not plays that have been the mega-hits of Broadway, nor are they plays that have normally been out on big national tours. These are the gems that have risen from New York's off-Broadway theatres, from London's fringe, from the daring auspices of regional theatres in America. They are plays from theatres like Steppenwolf in Chicago, Illusion Theatre in Minneapolis, the Humana Festival in Louisville and London's Donmar, Gate and Bush Theatres. In short, they are plays that would normally go unseen in our vicinity. Our goal is to bring these great contemporary works to life in this vital, passionate and intimate new theatre: the Shaker Bridge Theater in Enfield, New Hampshire. Intimate. Powerful. Contemporary.Our founder
Bill Coons* has spent his adult life working in the theatre. In addition to his academic study (BA in English/Psychology; MA in Directing; MFA in Directing), he has learned his art through his work. He began as the founder and artistic director of a small theatre in New Jersey, spent several years as a college professor and head of a theatre program in Vermont, created and ran a touring children's theatre company in Illinois, created and ran a graduate level acting conservatory at the Dorset Theatre Festival, worked as a professional actor, and has directed over 150 productions. In the two years that he was in the Upper Valley prior to founding SBT, Bill directed and designed productions of Passion (Peter Nichols), Venecia (Jorge Accame) and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night; directed the Christmas Revels production, directed the New England premiere of 365 Days, 365 Plays (Susan Lori Parks), directed The Secret Garden (Marsha Norman), and the premiere of The Lumpkin Sisters (Marisa Smith). In addition, he taught three different acting classes for adults in the upper valley (Act Like An Adult, Acting Shakespeare, Improvisation for Actors), and was the scenic designer and technical director for The Fifth of July (Lanford Wilson). In the first two seasons at Shaker Bridge Theatre, Bill has directed Later Life, Table Manners, Betrayal, Murderers, Venecia, A Picasso, The Book of Liz, Lovers, Rabbit Hole and Almost, Maine.Our board of directors
Bill Coons*, Artistic DirectorAline E. Ordman, Artist
William Koppenheffer, Attorney
Joan Ecker, owner of Fat Hat Clothing Company
Dr. Richard Rose *Member of Actor's Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
