Shakespeare In Clark Park Announces Artistic Director Leadership Change

Shakespeare in Clark Park has announced the appointment of Carly L. Bodnar as its interim Artistic Director. As the nonprofit theater company searches for a permanent artistic director, Bodnar replaces its beloved former Artistic Director Kittson O'Neill, who departed after this summer's production of The Taming! to lead the theater department at Abington Friends School.

Kittson O'Neill successfully led Shakespeare in Clark Park for eight years, as the company mounted media-praised productions of King Lear, Twelfth Night, Coriolanus, Two Gentlemen of Vernoa, expanding to multiple parks in 2021 with Pericles in Clark Park, Peril's Island in Harrowgate Park, and Germantown Plays Pericles in Vernon Park , and a memorable production of Every Everyman, performed from a pageant wagon on various blocks in West Philadelphia. During her tenure, Kittson also grew community engagement to connect more deeply with the local neighborhood and began an apprenticeship program for high school students interested in theater.

"Leading SCP was the honor of my life," said O'Neill. "What made it so magical was the communal and energetic spirit that really is unique to this park and this neighborhood. I know the next phase will be beautiful, experimental and unique, just like West."

Carly L. Bodnar will take the role of interim Artistic Director through the beginning of the new year. During this time, Bodnar will help lead the search for the new Artistic Director as well as continue planning for the 2023 production in Clark Park. Bodnar was recently the director for the high flying circus production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre at Shakespeare in Clark Park, is the co-founding/co-artistic director of ReVamp Collective and has directed at the Lantern Theater Company, Hedgerow Theatre Company, La Salle University and with her company ReVamp Collective.

"I came to work with Shakespeare in Clark Park and Kittson O'Neill in 2015 as the assistant director for A Winter's Tale and found a community and company I wanted to keep working with," Bodnar said. "What I have loved so deeply about Shakespeare in Clark Park is that working on a show at SCP is unlike anywhere else. You are creating a show in a public park for 500-1,000 audience members a night and the shows are 100% free for audiences. I've loved working and connecting with community members on the productions and at performances.

I am so excited to now step into the role of Interim Artistic Director and help usher SCP into the future while still keeping what myself and many people love about SCP. I love coming with my blanket, sitting outdoors, and taking in a play in a park. SCP has always been more than just a show, but a shared experience and beloved summertime event."

Shakespeare in Clark provides radically accessible free Shakespeare in Clark Park located in West Philadelphia. The company presents Shakespeare in a fun and welcoming way, breaking down barriers to entry. The company was started in 2009 and now offers year-round community engagement events, and an apprentice program for high school students anywhere in Philadelphia interested in theatre, as well as launching the careers of many emerging artists in the city. A hallmark of Philadelphia's summer cultural events, Shakespeare in Clark Park sees audiences of over 3,500-5,000 each year.

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