Catherine Gillet began Shakespeare & Friends in summer of 2019. Since then, the theater company has produced more than 22 shows, became a 501 (c) 3 organization, and welcomed well over 100 people onstage and behind the scenes. Over the years, we weathered a pandemic and a hurricane, so it comes as no surprise that the very idea for this unique company was born during a blizzard on a drive from New York City to Tryon, following a production Gillet directed at the 92nd Street Y.