Bard on the Beach launches iPhone App

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival is pleased to announce the launch of its new iPhone app, the first of its kind to be created for a Canadian live theatre company. The customized Bard app will provide iPhone users with a range of practical and entertaining online features. It was developed in partnership with Vancouver interactive branding agency Creative BSTRO and is now available to download from iTunes. It offers everything from basic Festival information to an innovative new augmented reality feature called Where’s Will?, putting the app in the creative forefront of online technology used by arts organizations.

“Bard on the Beach has become known for a focus on high quality and creativity over its twenty-two seasons,” notes Bard on the Beach Artistic Director Christopher Gaze. “When we decided to develop a Bard-specific smartphone product, we looked for a technology partner that shares our values and standards and has shown a strong commitment to the arts. Vancouver’s Creative BSTRO was a perfect fit. Working together, we’ve created an innovative Bard app that will be useful and also fun, delivering an entertaining experience for Festival-goers, Shakespeare lovers and the general public alike.”

About the Bard app: The free app, available from iTunes, brings Festival information to Bard audiences using interactive and intuitive design and includes play synopses, schedules, ticket purchase links, cast bios and photos, videos, podcasts, social media connections and special event information. Users can have fun with a Shakespearean insult generator and theWhere’s Will? search game, which allows patrons to roam the Festival grounds, using their iPhone cameras to locate a hidden animated William Shakespeare in various locations, invisible to the naked eye. They can then take a photo with the augmented-reality Shakespeare in the frame, and instantly share it on Facebook.

“Partnering with Bard on the Beach was a natural fit for BSTRO,” explained Jill Tracy, President of Creative BSTRO, which has offices in San Francisco and Vancouver. “Our agency is known for being on the cutting edge of innovation, delivering for clients ranging from global consumer brands and Silicon Valley technology giants to world-class arts festivals. With this new app, which lets audiences connect with Shakespeare through their iPhones, the Bard becomes accessible in a whole new way.”

About Bard on the Beach:

Bard on the Beach is Western Canada’s largest professional Shakespeare company and its Artistic Director is Christopher Gaze. The annual summer theatre festival has been staged in Kitsilano’s Vanier Park, adjacent to Vancouver’s downtown core, since 1990. The 2011 season runs from June 2 – September 24 with productions in repertory of As You Like It,The Merchant of Venice, Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses andRichard III. Productions are staged in two open-ended tents on the Vancouver waterfront. New in 2011 – a custom-built new Mainstage Theatre tent and reserved seating for all performances. For full details on the Festival and the 2011 season, visit www.bardonthebeach.org