HUDSON VALLEY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL TAKES ON NEW ROLE,
JOINS HVEDC BOARD
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (July 20, 2021) – Deepening its commitment to the region’s economic vitality, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) has officially joined the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation’s (HVEDC) Board of Directors. HVSF’s Artistic Director Davis McCallum and Managing Director Kate Liberman will represent thenonprofit in this prestigious shared appointment.
“The arts play a critical part in enhancing life in the Hudson Valley, as well as making the region a great place to live, work, visit and return to time and again,” said HVEDC President & CEO Michael Oates. “We’re looking forward to having Davis and Kate actively involved in the HVEDC and to collaborating with them to mindfully engage the arts community, particularly as New York State recovers.”
The announcement comes on the heels of HVSF’s news around its planned move from its longtime residence at Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison, NY, where it is currently holding its 35th performance season, to a new 98-acre site in Philipstown, NY next year. Gifted by philanthropist Christopher Davis, the view-filled location will allow HVSF to become a year-round cultural anchor and resource to the Hudson Valley region and beyond.
“Arts organizations like HVSF have a key role to play in promoting economic growth and bolstering the resilience of our communities,” said McCallum. “Linking arms with the HVEDC and its legacy of promoting economic activity in Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties feels like an ideal alignment and a way to ensure the arts community’s voice is heard.”
Since 1988, HVSF has performed a season of plays in rotating repertory. Over that time, annual audiences of 35,000 have come to embrace the Festival’s trademark style, in which actors emerge from the landscape and perform in a theater tent overlooking the Hudson River. According to Liberman, HVSF’s economic impact is $7 million annually and, in moving to a new location, the organization will keep this vital support within the Hudson Valley region and further grow its positive impact.
About Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
Founded in 1987, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) is a critically acclaimed (The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal), professional, non-profit theater company. The Festival has established a reputation for lucid, engaging, and highly inventive productions staged in rotating repertory under an iconic, open-air theater tent overlooking the Hudson River. In recent years, the Festival has also ventured beyond the tent, touring its work to other venues throughout the Hudson Valley as part of its HVSF On the Road series, transferring productions to other theaters, engaging its community through radically participatory art-making, and reaching over 50,000 students and educators annually through its year-round education programs.
For more information, visit: hvshakespeare.org or follow HVSF on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
About Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation (HVEDC)
HVEDC is the leading economic development agency for the seven-county region of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties. The public-private partnership markets the region as a prime business location to corporate executives, site selection consultants and real estate brokers. HVEDC helped start the organizational, branding and promotional effort for NY BioHud Valley, Hudson Valley 3D Printing and the Hudson Valley Food & Beverage Alliance. To learn more, call 845-220-2244 or visit hvedc.com
# # #
Courtesy photos of HVSF’s Artistic Director Davis McCallum and Managing Director Kate Liberman are attached.