AUSTIN SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL CO INC
604 Park Blvd, Austin, TX 78751 www.austinshakespeare.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: Austin Shakespeare presents professional theatre and theatre education programs of the highest quality with an emphasis on the plays of William Shakespeare, bringing to the public performances that are fresh, bold, imaginative, thought-provoking and eminently accessible, connecting the truths of the past with the challenges and possibilities of today.

Austin Shakespeare presented 3 MainStage productions at The Long Center Rollins Theatre; its 36th year of Free Shakespeare in Zilker Park; its 12th year of Young Shakespeare at The Curtain Theatre; our 5th collaboration with Austin Chamber Music Festival; 2 staged concerts at Parker Jazz Club; staged readings & education programs in various locations.

Indoor Season Austin Shakespeare presented 2 fully-staged productions and one reduced production at The Long Center Rollins Theatre where we have been a Resident Company since 2013. We produced our third Tom Stoppard play, Indian ink, for 13 performances. Performed with a cast of Indian and Indian-American actors featuring Atlanta Equity actor Tamil Periasamy. In the fall we produced a new version of Shakespeare's As You Like It featuring the music of Austin's well-known singer/songwriters for 13 performances and the youngest cast we've had in years. We had a short, one-week run of a new adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey with daytime performances for students. This was a particularly successful production with clever projected scenery. Our fourth collaboration with the Austin Chamber Music Festival was a fresh interpretation of The Tempest performed at The University of Texas Bates Recital Hall, a world-class facility with world-class musicians. Our appearances have become a highlight of the festival. We produced 2 staged concerts at Parker Jazz Club, Austin's premier jazz venue: Songs of Kiss Me Kate, Cole Porter's musical take on The Taming of the Shrew and Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Both concerts payed before 2 sold-out audiences.

Outdoor Season Our 36th year of Free Shakespeare in Zilker Park saw the return of The Merchant of Venice for the first time in 20 years for 13 shows. We cast African-American actor Marc Pouhé in the lead role, putting a new spin on the production's topic of racism. Free Shakespeare is the only way many can experience live theater. Located across from the world-famous Barton Springs Pool, people from all over the state, country and world come for the experience of a dip in the pool followed by a picnic on a blanket to hear the extraordinary beauty of Shakespeare's language. Our 12th year of Young Shakespeare, our teen company, gave 7 public performances of Macbeth with a cast of 20 young actors at The Curtain, Austin's replica of an Elizabethan theater. It is 1 of only 12 such theaters in the US. Many students credit this program in their decision to pursue theater as a vocation.

Education Austin Shakespeare offers education programs for youth and adults beginning with 4th graders. These include: Shakespeare 20/20, an in-class program where actors perform Shakespeare for half of a class, then get students to speak The Bard's words themselves; Tours of The Curtain Theatre, a modified form of Shakespeare 20/20 that includes a backstage tour of the theatre, allowing students to experience firsthand an Elizabethan stage; Student Informances at The Rollins Theatre, scenes in costume interspersed with Q&A sessions with the artistic director and a talkback with the actors after the performance; touring performances of The World's Fastest Hamlet, a fast-paced, energetic and comedic version of Hamlet first performed in 20 minutes, then 2 minutes, and finally 10 seconds; Young Shakespeare, a program for teens that includes stage movement and combat, diction, and scansion in addition to acting lessons. Students then perform 8 public performances. For adults, we offer Shakes Aloud!, our weekly reading group that covers 1-2 acts of each one of Shakespeare's plays; a playwriting class taught by artistic director Ann Ciccolella; and Audience Talkbacks after each performance, which allow audience members to ask questions or make comments about the performance with the actors, director and occasional area experts present. Since 2012 we have offered weekly classes based on The Artist's Way to help people free up their creativity in a series of structured lessons.

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