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Pedro Silva joined the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival in 1977, the same year it was founded by Stuart Brooks and Mark Woods. First contributing as an actor, Pedro eventually became the longest-serving managing and artistic director of the official state Shakespeare Festival of North Carolina. Under Pedro's guidance, NCShakes saw its most plentiful years, filled with glorious manifestations of Shakespeare's greatest plays, a state-wide school tour that served more than a million students and teachers, and the beloved annual production of A Christmas Carol that became a staple of the region's seasonal celebrations.

As NCShakes came to a close in 2014, Pedro and Meredith concentrated on reintroducing the annual A Christmas Carol, full-length Shakespeare productions, and a revised school tour to the region in a new form. In 2016, Pedro guided Meredith in the formation of Goodly Frame Theatre, and in 2019 they were set to produce A Christmas Carol with Pedro playing Ebenezer Scrooge. Sadly, Pedro passed away on June 14, 2019, shaking the Piedmont Triad artistic scene and putting the project on hold.

 

Until now. Meredith explains, “After 20 months in a world without in-person theatre and access to outreach performances in schools, it’s time to bring back the annual production of A Christmas Carol that we love.  It’s time to honor Pedro's legacy. It's time.”

This inaugural re-imagining of NCShakes' beloved production will serve as a fundraiser to not only develop and support the new annual A Christmas Carol, but also grant Pedro's wishes to continue providing quality Shakespeare programming in the schools and a regional stage for innovative productions of Shakespeare's greatest plays.