06 Oct From Stage to Page: $10,000 for Local Literacy Initiatives

For three summers now, Coast Shakespeare has proven that great theatre can create great community impact.

Following this year’s production of As You Like It, Coast Shakespeare presented a $10,000 donation to the Bev Shaw Literacy Fund, bringing their total support of literacy on the Sunshine Coast to an astounding $32,500 over the past three years.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped make these gifts possible, from the cast and crew to the volunteers and audiences who fill the seats each summer. These donations are helping grow a lasting legacy in memory of Bev Shaw and supporting local literacy initiatives that inspire a lifelong love of reading.

Looking ahead, Coast Shakespeare’s fourth production, The Tempest, will take the stage in summer 2027. We’re excited to continue this wonderful partnership and celebrate the impact it creates for our community.

Music be the food of love

More than 60 admirers of Renaissance music gathered at Living Faith Lutheran Church in Davis Bay last weekend for a melodic reprise of the summer production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

The community production was the work of Coast Shakespeare, a not-for-profit branch of the Driftwood Players. Friday’s concert was directed by Lise Kreps, one of the show’s directors and producers.

The $10,000 in net proceeds from the summertime performances were presented to representatives of the Sunshine Coast Foundation.

The money is allocated to the Bev Shaw Literacy Fund, in honour of the late owner of Sechelt’s Talewind Books. The fund has underwritten literacy initiatives like the writer-in-residence programs for School District 46, and the Sechelt Public Library’s summer reading club.

“On behalf of the entire board and team at the Sunshine Coast Foundation, I want to extend our heartfelt thanks for the extraordinary $10,000 donation to the Bev Shaw Literacy Fund,” said Elfie Hofmann, chair of the foundation.

“It was a pleasure to attend the event and hear the Fairy Band play. Raising this amount is an incredible achievement that speaks directly to the hard work of the Sunshine Coast Driftwood Players, the Sunshine Coast Community Shakespeare Project, and the hundreds of local residents who supported As You Like It.”

Hofmann closed her remarks by reaching for a quote from Coast Shakespeare’s 2025 production, Twelfth Night. “We are incredibly proud to steward this endowment,” she said, “and to paraphrase the Bard himself: ‘I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.’”

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‘Music be the food of love’
Words by Michael Gurney.
Photo by: Marisa Alps.
Pictured L to R: Courtney Lamb and Lise Kreps.
Original newspaper publication September 25, 2026.
Online publication on September 26, 2026.
Republished here with permission from the Coast Reporter.