2023-24 Shakespeare in American Communities Grants Revealed

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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