2001 saw several bold strides forward. In addition to increasing support from individuals and local business, we received our first grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, which allowed us to bring out three guest actors when we only anticipated being able to bring out one. We also created and launched our improvisational/dramatic performance troupe, “The World’s Greatest Shakespeare Company Presents The History Of King Henry the Fifth. Since that premiere, the WGSC has performed year round at schools, performance festivals, and events throughout Arizona.

For the fall festival, we produced Measure for Measure and Much Ado About Nothing in Granite Creek Park. Guest Artists that year included Ronnie Clark, Derek Medina, and Jennifer Pennington. We also expanded the Festival to include special performances for local high schools, a program which continues every year. Although the 2001 Festival opened two weeks after the attacks of 9/11, our core audience carried us through. In December, we performed our first production of A Christmas Carol at the Historic Elks Opera House in Prescott. Attendance for that show was our highest ever.