SARATOGA LIVINGThe City. The Culture. The Life.

As they say in theater, the show must go on. Earlier this month, the Saratoga Shakespeare Company, Saratoga Springs’ resident troupe of Shakespearean specialists, announced that the company had named writer, actor and director Marcus Dean Fuller as its new executive and artistic director. A member of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Fuller has two pairs of big shoes to fill as he will be taking over for Skidmore College drama professor and founding member of Saratoga Shakespeare Company Lary Opitz, who was producing artistic director, and his wife, Barbara, who acted as executive director.

“Over the past two years, Barbara and I worked closely with Marcus to develop a process for succession—we wanted to be sure that the company would continue to thrive once we moved on,” says Lary Opitz, who’s directed and acted in many of Saratoga Shakespeare Company’s productions. “It became clear that Marcus was the perfect choice for taking on this challenge. He is a talented and well-trained director and actor who maintains strong relationships with important institutions and individuals in the theater world.

Fuller made his directorial debut with the Saratoga Shakespeare Company this past summer season with a production of The Tempest, which was staged at the reflecting pool in Saratoga Spa State Park. Fuller’s acting and directing roots go much deeper though, with more than 25 years of experience on stage and in television/film (he made his directorial film debut with the 2016 supernatural drama One Fall), as well as an MFA from Yale School of Drama. He’s also taught drama at a number of area colleges, including Skidmore, Union College in Schenectady and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.

“I’m deeply humbled by the opportunity to serve this organization and lead the Saratoga Shakespeare Company into its 20th season,” says Fuller. “I don’t see Shakespeare’s work as a ‘sacred’ text but as a roadmap for our lives. The performing of Shakespeare is nothing less than the celebration of the human condition engaging us not just as individuals but as a community.”

As for the Opitzes, they will continue to support the company by serving on its newly formed advisory board. And fans of Lary Opitz’s stage performances will be pleased to learn that he’ll still have a hand in Saratoga Shakespeare Company’s future productions too. “As a founding member of [the company], I’ve enjoyed performing or directing in most of our seasons since 2000,” he says. “When Marcus asked if I’d be willing to act in future productions, I responded with an enthusiastic, ‘Yes!'”

Skidmore College has a new president. The Saratoga Springs-based liberal arts college announced on December 18 that Mark C. Connor, an English professor and provost at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA, would become Skidmore’s 8th president. Starting on July 1, 2020, Connor will take over for Philip Glotzbach, who’s served as the college’s president since 2003 and who announced he would be stepping down back in February.

“I have a deep respect for what Skidmore has achieved as a model of an excellent liberal arts education,” says Connor, who’s been teaching at Washington and Lee University for more than two decades. “[Skidmore] has positioned itself in an enviable place of growth and strength. It’s become more diverse. It’s increased its endowment. It’s become more selective. My role coming in is to put myself in service of Skidmore’s admirable mission of preparing students for lifelong learning and fulfillment.”

Born and raised in Tacoma, WA, Connor has a widely respected background in academia, especially in the realm of African-American and Irish literature, even recently co-editing a thousand-page publication, The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison. Connor also has a track record that emphasizes diversity and inclusion: He co-founded Washington and Lee’s African American Studies program in 2007, serving as that program’s director until 2012. He also helped create an immersive, STEM summer program for first-year, underrepresented students at the private liberal arts university.

Connor says he’s excited to start his new position as president at Skidmore next summer. “I can’t say enough about what [Glotzbach] and the college have been able to accomplish,” he says. “I’m eager to sit down with the Skidmore community, roll up our sleeves and continue Skidmore’s tradition of academic excellence, collaboration and creativity.”

The wait for a year-round arts venue in Downtown Saratoga is finally over. After nearly two decades of fundraising and renovating, the Universal Preservation Hall (UPH), that rose-bricked 19th-century church at 25 Washington Street, will have its official grand opening on Saturday, February 29. And the opening act for an opening so long in the making? None other than four-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash, the eldest daughter of country legend and “I Walk the Line” singer Johnny Cash. The soon-to-be-opened performing arts venue also released a full spring lineup with 15 shows from February to late May, all of which are on sale now.

“All of our years of fundraising and hard work have been leading up to our grand opening night,” says UPH’s Campaign Director Teddy Foster (who was one of the cover stars for saratoga living‘s Saratoga Summer Issue this year). “We’re thrilled to pull back the curtain and introduce our first slate of programming right in the heart of Downtown Saratoga Springs!”

Constructed in 1871, the former Methodist church is a historic landmark, having hosted speakers such as US President Theodore Roosevelt and abolitionist Frederick Douglass throughout the years. Though condemned in 2000, local citizens stepped in to save the large structure, which boasts the tallest steeple in the Spa City. In 2006, Foster took over as the project’s campaign director with a mission to fully renovate the building and turn it into a diverse, year-round arts venue.

Jump ahead more than a dozen years and that dream is a reality. In addition to that performance by Cash, the highly-anticipated inaugural week at UPH will feature everything from folk music, jazz and children’s theater to performances by big Broadway stars and even a circus. More shows will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets are currently available here or by phone (518.584.2627). Check out the full spring schedule below:

Saturday, February 29
Rosanne Cash at 7:30pm

Wednesday, March 4
Sounds of the Hall at 7:30pm.

Friday, March 6
An Evening with Chris Botti at 7:30pm

Sunday, March 8
The Marvelous Marquise Family Circus at 2pm

Friday, March 13
Megan Hilty at 7:30pm

Saturday, March 14
Howard Jones Acoustic Trio at 7:30pm

Sunday, March 15
Irish Hooley with the Screaming Orphans at 7:30pm

Tuesday, March 17
Rochmon Record Club presents: Paul Simon’s Graceland at 7pm

Friday, March 20
One Night in Memphis at 7:30pm

Saturday, March 21.
Journeyman at 7:30pm

Friday, March 27
Joey Alexander at 7:30pm

Saturday. April 4
PB&J Café: The Stinky Cheese Man at 11am and 1:30pm

Thursday, April 9
THE HIT MEN…Legendary Rock Supergroup & Musicians Hall of Fame at 7:30pm

Thursday, April 23
Bakithi Kumalo & The Graceland Experience at 7:30pm

Friday, April 24
The Okee Dokee Brothers at 6pm

Wednesday, April 29
The Steep Canyon Rangers a 7:30pm

Saturday, May 9
Top of the World – A Carpenters Tribute at 7:30pm

Saturday, May 16
Yogapalooza with Bari Koral Quartet at 2pm

Friday, May 22
Bee Gees Gold at 7:30pm

Opera Saratoga is getting its opera glasses ready early. Saratoga Springs’ resident opera company recently announced the creation of a new Opera Saratoga Guild, an official membership program that will offer members expanded programming, unique volunteer opportunities and access to exclusive deals and events. The local opera company also elaborated on a few events for guild members in the months leading up to the 2020 Summer Festival, which will run from June 20 through July 5 at the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Spa State Park.

“We’re very excited to announce the launch of the Opera Saratoga Guild,” Lawrence Edelson, Opera Saratoga’s artistic and general director, tells saratoga living. “The guild will further enhance the community’s enjoyment and appreciation of opera and support the goals and objectives of Opera Saratoga through volunteerism, education and new fundraising programs.”

Guild membership is open to anyone and is $50 for individuals and $90 for couples. Benefits include free admission to exclusive lectures and events throughout the year; an exclusive quarterly e-newsletter; a free sneak peek of the company’s annual Opera-to-Go children’s opera (this year it’ll be a new production of Jack and the Beanstalk); plus, rare chances to host seasonal artists and musicians. Some of those special guild events slated for next year include “A Festival Scenic Design Preview” with acclaimed opera producer and production designer Julia Noulin-Mérat; and lectures on Puccini’s masterpiece Madama Butterfly and the satire of Victorian-era master dramatists Gilbert and Sullivan. A complete schedule of guild events is expected in January.

The idea for the Opera Saratoga Guild grew out of an already existing but separate group known as the Friends of Opera Saratoga. Since 2001, Friends has functioned as a separate nonprofit that’s helped support Opera Saratoga through a mix of fundraising, volunteerism and dedication. After facing some recent operational difficulties, Friends transitioned this year into the Opera Saratoga Guild, an official extension of Opera Saratoga, sharing the same goals as the original organization but with expanded programming and more staff support.

Membership to the Opera Saratoga Guild is currently open. Group tickets are also available for the company’s 2020 Summer Festival, which will include new productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance and Madama Butterfly, along with Sky on Swings, an American opera that details the battles of two women with Alzheimer’s Disease. For more information on next year’s festival, click here.