Utah Shakespeare Festival executive to retire

R. Scott Phillips, executive director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, will retire after a 40-year career with the Tony Award-winning Cedar City institution.

The festival’s first full-time employee, Phillips joined the USF staff following his 1975 graduation from Southern Utah University, where the festival is based.

By the time he steps down March 1, Phillips will have spent a decade as executive director. Previously, he served as interim festival director (2006-2007), managing director (1990-2006) and director of marketing and public relations (1977-1990).

“I feel blessed for the opportunity to spend my professional life with an organization I care deeply about,” Phillips stated in a news release.

But, as festival founder Fred C. Adams noted, Phillips’ duties have always gone beyond job descriptions.

“No goal was too high, no job too menial — as was evidenced with this summer’s opening of the new Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts,” which included the debut of two new festival theaters, Adams said.

Phillips “purchased trees, placed them in strategic spots, planted dozens of flower pots, ordered equipment and trained additional staff to create an environment for our guests,” Adams added, “all while he continued to see additional funding to cover a hundred needed changes and niceties.”

During Phillips’ tenure, the Utah Shakespeare Festival has grown from three shows per year and a budget of $329,000 to nine plays in repertory, with a $7 million operating budget and attracting more than 100,000 visitors annually.

Read more stories from Carol Cling at reviewjournal.com. Contact her at ccling@reviewjournal.com and follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.