Lane Davies (file photo) [Click to enlarge]

The board of directors has named actor-director Lane Davies to the post. Davies is best known for his TV roles, appearing recently on "Scrubs" as the character Dr. Simon Reid.

Davies has also played on "General Hospital" as Dr. Cameron Lewis and "Santa Barbara" as Mason Capwell but has appeared in prime-time shows ranging from "3rd Rock From The Sun" to "The Practice" to "Babylon 5."

"The board feels that Lane brings the ideal combination of experience, creativity, and leadership to the festival," according to board President Rodney Simmons. "We want to establish ourselves as a professional company from the outset, and Lane is the perfect person to do that."

Over the past 30 years, Davies has not only performed a variety of roles from the Bard's plays in theater companies across the country, he has also worked as a consultant, writer and producer for Walt Disney Attractions on projects for Tokyo Disney Sea and EuroDisney.

He is also artistic director for the Santa Susana Repertory Company, where he has produced or directed over 40 productions. He founded the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival in Thousand Oaks and has been on the Tennessee Festival's steering committee since its inception.

The festival, scheduled for June 27-29 and July 4-6 on the campus of The Webb School, is sponsored by The Webb School and Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce.

The featured production will be "A Mid-Summer's Night Dream" but with a slight twist of scene and accent. There will be tent seating as well as grounds seating for those who choose to bring a blanket.

The Bell Buckle Café will be on site offering a variety of home-style cooking for picnic meals.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the gate with children under 12 admitted free. Tickets may be ordered online beginning this month.

Board members for the event include Rene Copeland, executive artistic director of Tennessee Repertory Theatre; Jeff Gibson, director of theatre at Middle Tennessee State University; Albert Cauz, headmaster of The Webb School; Bell Buckle Mayor Dennis Webb; Janet Linton, director of fine arts at Webb; Richard Northcutt, attorney and founder of Valhalla Shakespeare; Ralph Jones, history chair and theatre technical director at Webb; Jenny Hunt, Bell Buckle alderman; Rodney Simmons, Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce president; Stan Rupley, director of studies at Webb; Neal McClain, MTSU computer science department lab director; and Larry Lowman, president of Tennessee's Backroads Heritage Tourism.

For more information, contact Simmons at 389-5724 or Tennessee Shakespeare Festival, P.O. Box 488, Bell Buckle, TN 37020. The website is www.tennesseeshakespearefestival.com.