Richard Baird

Artistic Director

 

Richard is an award-winning actor, director and producer.  Prior to co-founding NEW FORTUNE THEATRE COMPANY Richard served as Associate Artistic Director of Southwest Shakespeare Company 2008-9.  Richard is the Founding Artistic Director of POOR PLAYERS THEATRE COMPANY which produced over 20 productions of Shakespeare and his contemporaries’ work.  Richard has been seen throughout the United States in regional theatres. 

 

Richard has directed for North Coast Repertory Theatre (Of Mice and Men) Intrepid Shakespeare Company (Much Ado About Nothing); Diversionary Theatre (Edward II); Southwest Shakespeare Company (As You Like It and The Winter’s Tale); Shakespeare Sedona/Poor Players (RICHARD II); Black Swan Theatre Series (The Changeling); Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Measure for Measure (three times), Othello, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus and Titus Andronicus (Poor Players). 

 

Select Acting credits include: The Old Globe (The Doll’s House), Portland Center Stage (Midsummer Night’s Dream), Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (Cyrano de Bergerac and The Madness of King George), Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Winter’s Tale, Cyrano de Bergerac, Two Gentlemen of Verona), Arizona Theatre Company (Romeo and Juliet, Disgraced), Kingsmen Shakespeare (Winter’s Tale, Comedy of Errors and Macbeth); Southwest Shakespeare Company (Cyrano de Bergerac, Tartuffe, Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Merchant of Venice, Othello), North Coast Repertory Theatre (School for Lies, Fallen Angels, Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, The Lover/Dumb Waiter, Arcadia, Rashomon, Moon for the Misbegotten, THIS, Becoming Cuba, Betrayal, Sherlock Holmes, Way Down River, Hedda Gabbler); Shakespeare Santa Cruz (Macbeth).  Richard played several roles for Poor Players including the title roles of Hamlet, Macbeth, Coriolanus, Iago in Othello and many more.  San Diego Critics Circle award for Angelo in Measure for Measure.  Two AriZoni Theatre Best Actor awards for his performance as Cyrano de Bergerac and Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew.  KPBS and San Diego Playbill awards for his performance as Shylock in Merchant of Venice and the title role in Macbeth.  And Richard recieved San Diego Critics Circle awards for Outstanding Lead Performance AND Outstanding Direction for New Fortune's inaugural Henry V.