NASHVILLE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

MISSION

The mission of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival is to educate and entertain the Mid-South community through professional Shakespearean experiences.

The Festival enriches and unifies our community with bold, innovative and relevant productions along with empowering, participatory educational programs, setting the community standard of excellence in educational outreach and performances of Shakespeare’s plays.

HISTORY

In 1988, a group of local actors led by Chambers Stevens produced the first free-of-charge Shakespeare in the Park production of As You Like It in Centennial Park. The park’s central location was instrumental in making Shakespeare in the Park a success, attracting a wide and diverse audience. Inspired by strong support from the community for the first production, the founders followed up with a second free production in the Park, Pericles in 1989, and the Nashville Shakespeare Festival was born. Local attorney and actor Donald Capparella assisted those founders (who included longtime company member Jill Jackson), and when Stevens left Nashville after Pericles, Capparella was joined by Denice Hicks among many others to create the first professional production of Shakespeare in the Park, The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1990. With Capparella leading the Board and Denice Hicks guiding the artistic vision of the Company during its thirty-year history, the Festival has grown into one of the region’s leading professional theatres. Each summer up to 15,000 people attend the annual Summer Shakespeare Festival which is designed to be accessible to people from all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Since 1988, over 348,000 Middle Tennesseans have attended, and admission has remained free, with donations welcomed at the Park for any who choose to support the Festival.

In 1992, in response to the need for an arts-in-education program in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival developed its educational outreach program, beginning with a series of fifty-minute versions of Shakespeare’s best-known works as “Shakespeare Samplers.” These abridged productions toured to middle and high schools throughout the state as well as regional colleges and universities. Through the years, The Festival has become a trusted resource for schools by providing enriching in-classroom and virtual workshops and creative opportunities for students. Over 213,000 students – many of whom had never experienced live theatre before – have been introduced to Shakespeare through the Festival’s interactive workshops and energetic performances.

In 2008, The Nashville Shakespeare Festival established its annual Winter Shakespeare production in residence at Belmont University’s Troutt Theater. The winter production allows The Festival to expand its repertoire to include plays that benefit from a more intimate indoor venue and to provide both public performances and daytime school performances. The first twelve winter productions have served over 66,500 students and adults. The NSF is awarded grants to serve at-risk children, giving them the opportunity to experience these productions free of charge. Following the production, they enjoy a question and answer session with the actors and directors. 

The Festival has also expanded its outreach to include businesses, law firms and adult groups, providing workshops that exercise creative thinking, problem solving, and effective communication through working with Shakespeare’s language, characters, and themes. The Festival’s certified Continuing Legal Education workshops have proven particularly popular as well as a solid source of revenue.

The success of the summer and winter productions has made possible many other community events throughout the year, also free to the public. Shakespeare Allowed, offered in partnership with the Nashville Public Library, is now in its 13th year. This event brings together actors, students, professionals, homeless citizens, ESL learners, retirees, and anyone else who wishes to participate in reading Shakespeare aloud. The reading is conducted by the Executive Artistic Director of the NSF, Denice Hicks, and over 3,500 have participated in these public readings that take place the first Saturday each month. Other community events include: Shakespeare’s Birthday celebrated with “The Biggest Balcony Scene Ever” in one of Nashville’s many beautiful public parks and “Insight” where university professors discuss the plays with a public audience.

In 2021, the Festival formed a partnership with Kennie Playhouse Theatre to present August Wilson’s JITNEY as part of the Summer Shakespeare Festival. KPT’s mission is to create a platform that gives the under-served African American acting community opportunities to perform for diverse audiences. That mission aligns well with the Festival’s mission to serve the entire Mid-South community and the collaboration creates common ground where all are welcome and hopefully enriched by the shared experience of live theater.