1 Bottom the Weaver – From the Script
I have had a dream—past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was—there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had—but man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream. It shall be called “Bottom’s Dream” because it hath no bottom. And I will sing it in the latter end of a play before the duke. Peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 4:1
2 Bottom the Weaver – At the Festival
Though most parents are loath to admit to having a favorite child, Utah Shakespeare Festival co-founder Fred Adams was not shy about admitting that A Midsummer Night’s Dream was his favorite play. It perhaps demonstrates Mr. Adam’s great patience and restraint that he waited until the Festival’s third season to mount its first production of Midsummer. It was produced six more times before Mr. Adams returned to direct it again in 2005, the year he retired from his position as the Festival’s Executive Artistic Director after 33 years of visionary leadership.
3 Bottom the Weaver – Artist: Dennis Smith
Dennis Smith, the creator of this statue, is a talented Utah-based artist working in both sculpture and painting. Best known for his representations of families, mothers, and children, his work can be found across the United States and around the world in hundreds of public and private collections, in galleries and museums, and in beautiful community spaces like this one.
This statue was added to the Pedersen Character Garden in 2020 as part of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s yearly celebration of William Shakespeare’s birth on April 23. The Festival has been celebrating this important date since 2002 and the annual festivities have developed into one of the most anticipated events in their year-round outreach to the local community. School children are particularly fond of the fun learning-centered programming the Festival’s Education Department provides at the Bard’s Birthday Bash each year.