American Shakespeare Festival News

Shakespeare Theatre Company's Artistic Director Michael Kahn invites theatre-lovers to a series of intimate conversations about life in the D.C. theatre scene as he prepares to retire from the STC stage. Open, unrehearsed, and off the record, invited speakers will swap anecdotes and share memories about Michael Kahn's 33-years at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Following his career trajectory, the discussions will focus on three distinct eras in STC's history by mapping D.C.'s changing theatre scene. The first Michael Kahn and Friends: Off the Record will focus on the formation of The Shakespeare Theatre Company in its first location: Folger Theatre (1986-1992).

In a fitting conclusion to his illustrious tenure at STC, Michael Kahn is bringing a dream project to the stage. 'I've always wanted to do all of The Oresteia,' he says. 'When I was in college, we read the whole Oresteia, and I was completely fascinated by the story, by the form, by the relationships, by the incredible depths of what it was about-violence, revenge, and the search for human justice.'

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Still exhausted from running around BroadwayCon all weekend? Ease into the new week by reading the top stories from around the Broadway World!

Many news sources are reporting a fire occurring early this morning at the historic American Shakespeare Festival Theatre in Stratford, CT. According to Fox61, actors from Katherine Hepburn to Christopher Walken performed there.

On June 21st, the Shakespeare Academy at Stratford kicked off its fifth season by welcoming fourteen young actors to Stratford. Coming from as close as New York City and as far as Singapore and Mexico, the group was selected from a record number of applicants to spend six weeks training and performing on the property that once housed the American Shakespeare Festival Theater.

A good villain is hard to come by. Bad guys are hardly the type of characters you root for but when they suck you in-watch out! At Commonwealth Theater Center's annual Young Shakespeare Festival, the current installment of Richard III zeros in on the villainous King Richard who manipulates, slaughters and even delights in his bloody pursuits for power over England.

In her staging of The Merry Wives of Windsor, director Jennifer Pennington taps into the unique reservoir of contextual opportunities of a mid-Twentieth Century setting. By placing the action in the 1950's, she puts a refreshing spin on one of the most featherweight of Shakespeare's comedies.

SPRING AT THE WILLOWBROOK INN, a new play by Jonathan Van Dyke, will be featured at the Tampa International Fringe Festival at the HCC Studio Theatre in Tampa, FL. May 3 - 6, 2018, starring Wesley Eure (TV's Land of the Lost, Days of Our Lives, Dragon Tales), George Dvorsky (Broadway's Scarlett Pimpernel, Passion, and Madam Secretary), Justin Lore (Forbidden Broadway, Disney's Finding Nemo), and Jacob Thompson (The Perfect Murder). Directed by Jonathan Van Dyke, SPRING AT THE WILLOWBROOK INN was awarded Outstanding Production and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play at the All Out Arts: Fresh Fruit Festival in NYC.

Shakespeare Academy @ Startford's Artistic Director Brian McManamon invites the public to attend free public performances of Measure for Measure and The Tempest in rotating repertory on the grounds of The Shakespeare American Festival Theater from July 29th-August 6th. McManamon will direct Measure for Measure, which opens July 30th at 8:00 p.m. and Guest Director Jessi D. Hill will direct The Tempest, which opens on July 29th at 6:30 p.m.

Juilliard Drama, celebrating its 50th anniversary, announces its 2017-18 season of fully staged productions featuring Juilliard's Group 47 acting students in their fourth and final year in the drama program.

The Scranton Shakespeare Festival announces its sixth season - a daring lineup of single-gender casts for both Shakespeare plays and a baseball musical performed in a ballpark.

The Scranton Shakespeare Festival announces its sixth season - a daring lineup of single-gender casts for both Shakespeare plays and a baseball musical performed in a ballpark.

Los Angeles Drama Club, a local 501(c)3 nonprofit organization presents a diverse cast of 11 actors to stir the stage this June with the World Premiere of UNSPOKEN: Shakespeare's Personae in Peril by award-winning playwright, Blaire Baron.  Special press preview Saturday, June 3 at 4:00 to 5:00 PM (PST) at the Underground Theatre in Hollywood.  Production dates: 6/3 at 4:00 PM, 6/9 at 9:00 PM, 6/11 at 7:00 PM, 6/17 at 5:30 PM.  For more information, please visit:www.LosAngelesDramaClub.com.

The Mighty Quinn Foundation hosted Shakespeare and Champagne, a fundraising benefit for the Shakespeare Academy at Stratford, on May 15 at Ars Nova in New York City. Jenn Harris (Gayby, New York is Dead) hosted the event. Bryan Terrell Clark, who currently plays George Washington in the Tony Award winning musical Hamilton was among the evening's special guests. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Los Angeles Drama Club, a local nonprofit organization presents a diverse cast of 11 actors to stir the stage this June with the World Premiere of UNSPOKEN: Shakespeare's Personae in Peril by award-winning playwright, Blaire Baron.

Completing The Shakespeare Canon At Commonwealth Theatre Center

The Mighty Quinn Foundation invites the public to attend Shakespeare and Champagne, a fundraising benefit for the Shakespeare Academy at Stratford, on May 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Ars Nova in New York City.

Significant Other, the new American play by playwright Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews) and directed by Trip Cullman (Yen, Six Degrees of Separation), officially opens tonight, March 2, at The Booth Theatre (222 West 45th St.). Scroll down to watch interviews with the cast and learn more about the company!