The Company of Fools (CoF) theater group has been putting on world-class stage productions in the Wood River Valley since the group relocated to Hailey in 1996. Founded in Rusty Wilson’s unheated garage in Richmond, Virginia in May 1992, Wilson and original CoF members Vicki Bodin, John Glenn, Denise Simone, Robert Throckmorton and Joel Vilinsky took inspiration for their name from an essay by visual artist Cecil Collins, “The Vision of the Fool”. Collins describes the fool as embodying truth, joy, creativity and a childlike wonder of all that is magical and mysterious. The CoF went on to launch three productions in their four years in the garage before Wilson and Simone relocated to Hailey to continue their work on the stage of Hailey’s Liberty Theatre, the Fools’ home.  In November 2012, the CoF merged with the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, becoming part of what is now the largest arts institution in the state of Idaho. And now, over 20 years later, the CoF is recognized for its award-winning theatre and arts education programming it has brought to the community. The group and the individuals who make it up have been consistently recognized for their contributions to the arts; …