2023-24 Shakespeare in American Communities Grants Revealed

Recipients included Actors Shakespeare Project Inc, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), Chicago Shakespeare Theater and many more.

By: Jun. 01, 2023
2023-24 Shakespeare in American Communities Grants Revealed
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Arts Midwest announced the recipients of $1,161,500 in Shakespeare in American Communities grants, with $976,500 going to 41 professional theater companies partnering with schools, and $185,000 going to eight organizations working with students in the juvenile justice system.

Celebrating its 20th year in 2023, Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The program supports high-quality productions and educational activities exploring the work of William Shakespeare in middle schools, high schools, and juvenile justice facilities throughout the United States.

Theater companies are able to choose to either perform a play by Shakespeare or select an adaptation or new play that incorporates Shakespeare’s scenes or monologues. Paired with these performances, each company will host educational activities with students to creatively explore Shakespeare’s work and its context. These performances and educational events will take place between August 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024.

For the first time this year, applicants could choose a range of grant awards ($15k-$25k) to help smaller organizations meet the required match more easily. An additional Juvenile Justice grant was awarded this year, and 11 new grantees were awarded Schools grants.  

"We're delighted to share the latest group of Shakespeare in American Communities grantees, and can't wait to see the wide variety of projects they'll be undertaking this year," says Joshua Feist, Grants Officer at Arts Midwest. “We’re inspired by grantees taking novel approaches to Shakespeare’s work, from bilingual adaptations to hip hop writing. These innovative interpretations offer young people opportunities to see their own experiences and identities mirrored within the text.”

“Shakespeare in American Communities provides an important opportunity for youth who might not otherwise be exposed to a professional production to experience the magic of live theater,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. “And this program goes even further, engaging youth in activities that explore how a work written more than 400 years ago can still resonate today, helping them to understand the world around them and the impact of the arts.”

One hundred and twenty theater companies and organizations across the United States have taken part in Shakespeare in American Communities since the program’s inception in 2003. To date, the program has supported more than 16,000 performances and 60,000 educational activities at more than 12,000 schools and juvenile justice facilities in 4,700 communities in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. 

Examples of projects supported:

See Stories (Anchorage, AK) - See Stories will lead two Shakespeare and Hip-Hop workshops at McLaughlin School in Anchorage. The workshops will be co-facilitated by See Stories Director Marie Acemah, hip-hop artist Tayy Tarantino, and actor Keith McGill. Students will rewrite a section of Romeo and Juliet as a hip hop song and perform their scenes. The workshops will expand on a current See Stories program at McLaughlin.

Oye Group (Ridgewood, NY) - Shake on the Block is a free workshop series that introduces low-income Brooklyn students ages 13-17 to Shakespeare. Together, we break down the complex dynamics of The Bard through scene analysis, playwriting, adaptation, and performance. Students gain the skills to adapt a Shakespearean play using contemporary English and street slang in order to create a multi-media theater production.

Eden Performing Arts (El Paso, TX) - A bilingual, 90-minute adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” for high school students. Performances will be supplemented with targeted after school workshops and in-class 50-minute programs featuring scenes followed by a Q&A, tailored to English, Spanish, dual language and theater classes and addressing issues including teen suicide, gang violence, and teen sexuality.

Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble (Bloomsburg, PA) - BTE will venture from their theatre on Center Street for “Off-Center Residencies” in surrounding communities to present a rollicking trunk-show of Twelfth Night. Removing the barrier of travel, they will bring Shakespeare to rural communities to engage middle and high school students and community members with performances and workshops focused on accessing the vitality of Shakespeare’s language.

 

Explore the Grantees

Below are the theater companies selected to participate in the Shakespeare in American Communities program for 2023-24. 

 

Shakespeare in American Communities: Juvenile Justice

Grants to support theater education programs in juvenile justice facilities that illuminate the works of Shakespeare and addresses his work in modern context.

 

Theatre Company/Organization

City

State

Award

Actors Shakespeare Project Inc

Charlestown

MA

$25,000

Kentucky Shakespeare Festival Inc

Louisville

KY

$15,000

Marin Shakespeare Company

San Rafael

CA

$25,000

Oye Group Inc

Ridgewood

NY

$25,000

See Stories

Anchorage

AK

$25,000

Shakespeare Behind Bars Inc

Macatawa

MI

$25,000

Southern Utah University

Cedar City

UT

$20,000

Tennessee Shakespeare Company

Cordova

TN

$25,000

Total

   

$185,000

 

Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

Grants to support performances of Shakespeare and related educational activities for students from five or more schools.

 

Theatre Company/Organization

City

State

Award

A Noise Within

Pasadena

CA

$25,000

Actors Shakespeare Project Inc

Charlestown

MA

$25,000

African-American Shakespeare Company

San Francisco

CA

$25,000

Alabama Shakespeare Festival Inc

Montgomery

AL

$25,000

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.)

San Francisco

CA

$25,000

American Players Theatre Of Wisconsin Inc

Spring Green

WI

$25,000

American Shakespeare Center

Staunton

VA

$25,000

Barter Foundation Incorporated State Theatre Of Virginia

Abingdon

VA

$25,000

Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble

Bloomsburg

PA

$25,000

Catskill Mountain Shakespeare Ltd

Shandaken

NY

$25,000

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago

IL

$25,000

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

Cincinnati

OH

$25,000

Classical Theatre Of Harlem

New York

NY

$25,000

Columbus Childrens Theatre

Columbus

OH

$21,500

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Inc

Boston

MA

$25,000

Eden Performing Arts

El Paso

TX

$15,000

Gamut Theatre Group Inc

Harrisburg

PA

$15,000

Grassroots Shakespeare Company

Orem

UT

$15,000

Great Lakes Theater Festival Inc

Cleveland

OH

$25,000

Group I Acting Company Inc

New York

NY

$25,000

Guthrie Theatre Foundation

Minneapolis

MN

$25,000

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival Inc

Garrison

NY

$25,000

Indianapolis Shakespeare Company Inc

Indianapolis

IN

$25,000

Lantern Theater Company

Philadelphia

PA

$25,000

Marin Shakespeare Company

San Rafael

CA

$25,000

Nashville Shakespeare Festival

Nashville

TN

$25,000

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association

Ashland

OR

$25,000

Orlando Shakespeare Theater Inc

Orlando

FL

$25,000

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival

Center Valley

PA

$25,000

Quintessence Theatre Company

Philadelphia

PA

$25,000

Regents Of The Univ. Of Co/Univ. Of Co Colorado Springs - Theatreworks

Colorado Springs

CO

$25,000

San Antonio Little Theatre Inc

San Antonio

TX

$25,000

Seattle Shakespeare Festival

Seattle

WA

$25,000

Shakespeare In Detroit

Dearborn

MI

$25,000

Shakespeare Theatre

Washington

DC

$25,000

Shakespeare-San Francisco

San Francisco

CA

$25,000

Sweet Tea Shakespeare Inc

Fayetteville

NC

$15,000

Tennessee Shakespeare Company

Cordova

TN

$25,000

The Neo Political Cowgirls Inc

East Hampton

NY

$20,000

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre

Warwick

RI

$25,000

Theatre For A New Audience Inc

New York

NY

$25,000

Total

   

$976,500

 



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