Director Keith A. Anderson has worked in professional theatre as an actor, director, and producer for over thirty-five years. His love of Shakespeare has prompted him to present free Shakespeare productions throughout his career. Andersonâs goal is to make Shakespeare understandable and accessible to the ordinary audience member. "If an audience member has to check the footnotes to understand what a line means, then the beauty of the play is lost. I do minimum translation of the text, substituting modern equivalents for archaic words. I believe that the dialogue must be immediately understood to be enjoyed." His enthusiasm for Shakespeare is infectious as this lifelong Shakespearean scholar shares information from his 2500-volume Shakespeare library with his cast. Anderson also wrote An Essay on the Meaning of Hamlet: A Directorâs Approach was published in 1979.

This is his ninth production at the Playhouse; others include: The Hollow, two productions of A Midsummer Nightâs Dream, The Tempest, & two sold out runs of Agatha Christieâs The Mousetrap, I Hate Hamlet, & Social Security. He received the Playhouse Best Director award for the latter two plays and all of his productions received acting and design awards. As Artistic Director of the Southwest Ensemble Theater in Phoenix, a professional, resident theatre for three and a half years, Anderson directed and produced many world premieres including the 1973 production of William Ingeâs The Last Pad , which starred then unknown actor Nick Nolte and won nominations from the LA Drama Criticsâ Circle.

For seven and a half years, he was Drama Director for the City of Phoenix. While working in Los Angeles, & earning an M. A. in theatre from Cal State LA, he was Associate Director and board member of Hollywood Actorâs Theatre and was involved with TV & film. Drama Director for the City of Phoenix, Anderson started the Phoenix Free Shakespeare Festival, supervised over 80 citywide drama classes, and sponsored a New Playwrightâs Festival. Retired from professional theatre because of a heart bypass in 1990, Anderson has recently devoted his time and energy to starting the Coronado Playhouse Free Shakespeare Festival and directing other professional quality productions at the Playhouse.