Elm Shakespeare Company Receives Gift From Kansas City Based Theatre League Through Shakespeare Theatre Association

Elm Shakespeare, a New Haven based professional theater company with the mission of igniting a spark in our shared humanity through Shakespeare, has received this generous gift from The Theatre League. These funds will allow Elm to continue enriching the widely diverse lives of the greater New Haven community through exceptional artistic and educational programming. 

Patrick Flick, Executive Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) and Mark Edelman, founder and president of Theater League, Inc, a Kansas City, Missouri based contributor to the performing arts, announced today that the League will be gifting thirty-five Shakespeare Theatres across the United States and internationally with a grant of $255,000 in general operating support. These non-restricted gifts of either $5,000 or $10,000 each based on budget size will be awarded in 2023 to STA- member producing theaters with budgets between $100,000 and $1,400,000, including Elm Shakespeare Company. An award of $5,000 was also made to the Shakespeare Theatre Association itself. 

“As regular contributors to the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival in Kansas City—a long-time STA member--- we were looking to expand our support of non-profit organizations with similar goals and objectives,” explained Edelman. “That led us to STA and Patrick, who helped us Identify the mid-level Shakespeare producing organizations we wanted to fund.” 

Said Flick, “STA is always looking for ways to assist our membership, whether it be in the form of our annual conference, or by seeking out financial assistance for our hard-working member theaters. At a time when audience sizes are just beginning to rebound from the pandemic, support for Shakespeare and the classics in the communities we serve is such an important thing. STA is grateful to Theater League for that support.” 

Kansas City-based Theater League is a not-for-profit performing arts organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the communities it serves with the thrill of live! theater. Founded in 1976, the group supports theater companies in its hometown and across the country, including subsidizing tickets for student groups through its Theater ROcKs (Reach Out to Kids) program. 

Rebecca Goodheart, Elm Artistic Director, says “We are humbled to receive this gift from an organization whose values so closely align with ours. These funds will aid in our continued efforts to provide equitable access to educational programs for all members of our artistic community, regardless of economic status.”

“What appealed to us is the far-flung nature of the organizations we’ll be supporting with this grant program,” continued Edelman. “Shakespeare companies in twenty-six states plus the Czech Republic will get a little help from Theater League.” 

STA is a 32-year-old theatre service organization founded in 1991 at a convening in Washington DC, hosted by the Shakespeare Theatre and the Kennedy Center. The organization continues to convene annually to provide support and mentorship as well as share best practices with colleagues from within the United States and internationally. Membership includes over 130 organizational theaters and dozens of Associate Members representing indoor, outdoor, Equity and non-Equity, year-round, seasonal, university-affiliated, and free Shakespeare productions with budgets ranging from $25,000 to $60,000,000. 

STA’s member organizations engage a diverse array of audiences and staff members representing a wide variety of ethnicities, genders, ages, and abilities. A resource network that bridges the gap between scholarship and production and promotes the teaching of Shakespeare in schools, STA has helped its member organizations explore Shakespeare in the context of colonialism, anti-racism, gender diversity, best practices in hiring, and a host of other topics designed to keep the Bard relevant in the modern world. 

About Elm Shakespeare Company: The Elm Shakespeare Company ignites a spark in our humanity, enriches people’s lives from widely diverse backgrounds and strengthens the artistic and educational landscape of the Greater New Haven region. We are committed to offering accessible theatre and innovative experience in our parks, classrooms, neighborhoods and now to your computers! 

Join us this summer for a bold new production of Shakespeare’s bawdy classic, The Merry Wives of Windsor. Merry wives centers around one of Shakespeare’s most beloved buffoons, John Falstaff, as he attempts (and fails) to trick the cunning wives of two wealthy gentlemen 

into giving him their husbands' money. The production will take place on our two-story portable Alexander Clark Playhouse stage, generously gifted to Elm by Technolutions CEO Alexander Clark in 2022. Helmed by seasoned & acclaimed director Dawn Monique Williams, this hilarious play will invite audiences from all walks of life to engage in an evening of radical anachronism with a fresh take on the bard’s classic - this is not your grandma’s Shakespeare. 

The Merry Wives of Windsor will run Wednesday, Wednesday, August 16th through Sunday, September 3rd (Tuesday - Sunday) at 7:30pm in Edgerton Park in New Haven located at 75 Cliff Street. As always, the performances will be free to the public and picnicking prior to the performance is encouraged. More information can be found on the Elm Shakespeare Company website: https://www.elmshakespeare.org/freeshakespeare 

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