DAILY CAMERA: CU students present Shakespeare in cozy confines

Lynn Nichols knows his way around the works of the Bard of Avon.

A veteran of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the University of Colorado drama instructor has had plenty of time and opportunity to familiarize himself with the playwright’s canon on every level. Indeed, after starting off working in the festival’s concession stand as a CU graduate student, Nichols went on to play myriad roles with the CSF, including a stint as its general manager.

He spent many years working to properly realize Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, histories and romances, all on the picturesque stage of the Mary Rippon Theatre, an outdoor auditorium with a capacity of more than 1,000.

But even the scope, size and repute of the CSF couldn’t fully satisfy Nichols when it came to finding the true heart of Shakespeare’s creative mission. Something was missing, and it had everything to do with resources. Nichols wanted to work with less.

“All the years I spent with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, even back when they didn’t have mics and all of that, I always yearned to do something more intimate,” Nichols said.

“For years, I’ve proposed that they let me do a Shakespeare play up in the Loft,” he added, referring to the theater on the CU campus with a capacity of less than 100 that’s used for student productions. “They always said no.”

That verdict finally changed. Nichols’ production of “The Winter’s Tale,” featuring student actors and crew, will run for five performances, June 27-31, in the Loft Theatre.

According to Nichols, the show is set to take full advantage of…Read the full article by A.H. Goldstein here.