11/24/2025
To our Dear Friends and Supporters, “Big News,” first from Dan and then from Helen:
From Dan:
It has been our great pleasure, and mostly, our great, great privilege to serve and perform for our community here on San Juan Island since 1999. Beginning with our first of twenty-seven years of ‘Shakespeare Under the Stars’ and 'The Tempest' and ending with 'Theatre Under the Stars’ and our production of 'The Drawer Boy', it has been our dream come true; to bring professional theatre to the place we love. Theatre has always been in Helen's and my blood, like holy wine, and always will be. Now we are approaching the time immortally penned by Dylan Thomas: “Old age should burn and rave at close of day”. Our own raving and fire is taking us to England. Not perfect, but elsewhere - and most importantly, to family, plus, for the most part, to a civil society. We will be taking thousands of memories with us and the sound of your applause will echo in our hearts forever.
Thank you again. Dan
From Helen:
Due partly to the fact that we are fast approaching our eighties, we have had to make the terribly hard decision to leave this magical island and you, our dear friends and supporters. We are moving to Cornwall in beautiful SW England, where we have close family and can live more cheaply and simply. An added incentive is that the current politics of this country have affected us both deeply and left me, a Green Card holder, in fear of being arrested at the border. My online posts could well damn me!
Our sojourn on this island for the last thirty years has been a time that we will never forget and will always look back on with enormous happiness. You, our audience, and so many close friends, we shall miss for the rest of our lives. Shakespeare is the magician and with his guidance, we believe magic was created here on our beautiful property with which we fell in love when there was nothing on it, not even a driveway. We bought the land thanks to both sets of parents. Lucky we were, indeed, although money has never meant much to us except as a means to follow our dream of providing free professional theatre and Shakespeare for all. This has been made possible by donations from all of you and, I have to say, also by Dan, one of the finest and most gifted actors I have ever known.
We found this land and instantly knew it was meant to be. It was ten acres of overgrown brush with a spectacular view of the lake. We camped in the brush, showered with outdoor solar showers hung on branches, graduated for a year (illegally, I think!) to the newly constructed barn with a concrete floor and no heat or bathroom, while the ultra talented and generous Pete Kilpatrick and his extraordinarily skilled crew built the framing of our house, which we finished ourselves with many books from the library, and a steep learning curve, becoming familiar with electrical codes, surrounded by insulation and moving from room to room as each one in turn was finished until, finally, we were given our “Final” approved by the building Department.
By that time Shakespeare was in its second season. It’s been one hell of a ride and we have benefitted from every moment of it, even if sometimes it all seemed impossible. We had friends, neighbours and family, many of whom quietly thought we were nuts (which may well be true!) but with determination, Dan as lead actor, a vision and Churchill’s words via my father, “Never, never, never give up. Never!” ringing in our ears, we fashioned a life and a theatre on this magical isle that fulfilled all our dreams and hopefully left a legacy of that genius, Shakespeare, for coming generations.
Our house is, amazingly, being bought, by our fabulous friend, theatre mate (Oberon in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”) and realtor extraordinaire, Zach Harrison and his talented wife Kelly, who are helping us make this huge transition. Hope springs eternal that ISL may still continue under their leadership - perhaps in partnership with the new Alchemy Arts centre and using the outdoor stage here for Shakespeare.….much to be pondered in all directions…
In the meantime, we hope to see you all at Christmas for the final performances of “Omnium Gatherum” and a celebration of both the season and all that we have shared over the year.
With deep love and gratitude for you all,
Helen
(Prospero - “The Tempest”)
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
