This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
R. Scott Phillips, executive director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, has received national recognition from the Institute of Outdoor Drama.
Phillips earned the annual Mark R. Sumner Award for his invitations to the country's Shakespeare festivals to join the organization. A list previous awardees reads like the "Who's Who of American Theater": Bill Patton, executive director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Tina Packer, founder of Shakespeare and Company in Massachusetts; and Josef Meier, founder of the Black Hills Passion Play in South Dakota, according to a statement from Utah Shakespeare Festival.
Phillips is one of the founders of the Shakespeare Theatre Association, as well as the group's past president. After more than 40 years at USF, he recently announced his retirement, scheduled for March.
He's also a past president of the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association; a current theater panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts; a regional adjudicator for the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association, American College Theatre Festival and University Resident Theatre Association; and a member of the board of advisers for Las Vegas' New West Theatre and the board of directors for the Utah Arts Council.
Phillips received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Utah Theatre Association in 2001 and the Southern Utah University Outstanding Staff Member in 1990. He received a bachelor's degree from Southern Utah University in 1975 and pursued graduate studies in theater administration at Idaho State University.