About Civic Shakespeare

Civic Shakespeare is a newly-formed independent theatre company located in Charlotte, NC. The mission of this theatre is to produce plays by Shakespeare (mostly), workshops and other Shakespeare-related events for the benefit and enjoyment of local artists and audiences.

Founding

Civic Shakespeare was founded by me, Joe Copley. I am a veteran of Charlotte theatre since 1997. In 2006, I co-founded Collaborative Arts Theatre (later renamed Charlotte Shakespeare), and served as its Managing Director until 2013, as well as acting in or directing a number of its productions, some of which include:

A Midsummer Night's Dream, as Assistant Director and the character Bottom
As You Like It, as Co-Director
Julius Caesar, as Brutus
Much Ado About Nothing, as Benedick
Othello, as Iago
The Merchant of Venice, as Co-Director
The Comedy of Errors, as Director
Twelfth Night, as Director

I am a longtime Charlotte resident and the owner and CEO of Copley Internet Systems, a Charlotte-based web design and hosting firm. I am the creator of oldhouses.com.

Goals

My long-term goal is to build Civic Shakespeare into an ongoing, self-sustaining theatre company capable of fulfulling its mission.

The first step on this journey was the 2014 Shakespeare Video Contest. The goals of this contest were

to recognize and celebrate Shakespeare artists in the Charlotte region
to offer a platform to artists who lack the time or opportunity to participate in full-length productions
to allow any actor to perform any great Shakespearean role on a public stage
to bring Shakespeare to new audiences
to foster innovation in the performance and expression of Shakespeare

The 2014 contest was a modest success, but made it plain that I was not ready to embark on full-scale theatre production.

Since then I have chosen to focus on the other pressing aspects of my life, so that when next I ask others to help create, and see, Civic Shakespeare productions, I will be able to devote the time and resources necessary to make it worthy of their time.

I have spent some of this time working ion short films, and developing techniques for working with Shakespeare's text.

Eventually, my plan is to make the contest an annual event. Like the first contest, each will culminate in a city-wide 'cast' party to which all theatre folk will be invited. This party serves another Civic Shakespeare goal:

to bring together theatre artists and theatre lovers, as often as possible, for good times and fellowship

The heart of Civic Shakespeare's mission will be to produce full-length plays, with local and regional artists, that are distinctive and highly entertaining. The goal is to become very good at doing this, by

working first and most often with William Shakespeare, history's greatest playwright
developing a rehearsal process founded on the text, which offers limitless and powerful information and acting cues
providing regular opportunities for training by accomplished artists and instructors

For more information, take a look at this theatre's approach to producing Shakespeare.

History

2019

The Bard in Black Begins.

2015

Civic Shakespeare is currently dormant, while I amass the resources, collaborators, funding, and energy required to produce theatre worthy of its mission.

2014

The 1st Annual Shakespeare Video Contest

Whence the Name 'Civic Shakespeare?'

'Civic' -

of, relating to, or belonging to a city, a citizen, or citizenship; municipal or civil.

of or relating to the citizen, or of good citizenship and its rights and duties.
-- source: Wiktionary

The letters in 'civic,' C, I and V, stand for the three words that describe every great performance of a Shakespeare play, which must be

Clear, Interesting, and Vivid

I'm not sure yet about the extra C and I. Maybe they stand for 'cogent' and 'innovative.' Or maybe just really clear and really interesting.

The motto on the home page, totus mundus agit histrionem, which translates to 'we are all players,' is believed to have been on the sign of the Globe Theatre, built in 1599.