For four summer seasons, Payson has worked at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. The festival is one of the oldest in the country and celebrated it's 46th. Season last summer.

As the Company Fight Director for the Festival, Payson is responsible for staging the violence and much of the physical comedy for all the shows produced each summer. Four shows in six weeks!

The schedule each year consists of 2 tragedies or histories, and two comedies. Of course, anything involving sword slinging, physical violence and falls Payson is deeply involved with the process. In the comedies, Payson was able to collaborate with the directors working out comic moments and bits, as well as working with the physicality for the actors. On one show in the 2001 season, Payson was given the job of directing an entire 20-minute pre show.

"To me, physical comedy and staged violence are two sides of the same coin. The specificity and cleanliness of timing and movement choices an actor needs to make in both areas are very similar. What serves you in defining your moments in a fight can serve you while performing a comic bit. In many ways, I find my work in the comedies even more rewarding than a rip roaring sword fight, and am always very happy when the directors and CSF utilize my talents in that area."

The Festival has a close relationship with the University of Colorado, Boulder: They utilize the University's rehearsal, construction and performance spaces. While there for the summer, Payson is also employed each year to teach acting in the University's summer terms.

Photos from:	(click on any of these thumbnails)
1999 Season Comedy of Errors Henry IV
2000 Season Twelfth Night
Henry V
Julius Caesar
2001 Season King Lear
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Queen Margaret (rehearsal)
As You Like It

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