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Announcing the 2024-25 Shakespeare in American Communities Grantees

by Arts Midwest and National Endowment for the Arts

A photo of plumed actors in feathers and mechanical dressing
Photo Credit: Photo by Craig Schwartz, courtesy of A Noise Within
A Noise Within performs Midsummer Night's Dream, featuring Trisha Miller, Greta Donnelly, Rachel Han, Lauren Sosa.

$1.17 million will support Shakespeare programming for young people across America.

Today, Arts Midwest announced the recipients of $1.17 million ($1,172,579) in Shakespeare in American Communities grants, with $1 million ($1,002,580) going to 43 professional theater companies partnering with schools, and $170,000 going to 7 organizations working with students in the juvenile justice system.

“Shakespeare in American Communities brings meaningful concepts and stories to life for students across the country. Through live theater, these grantees provide invaluable opportunities for young minds to cultivate empathy, deepen understanding, and ignite a lifelong passion for creativity.”

Joshua Feist, Grants Officer at Arts Midwest
A group of actors in a classroom.
Photo Credit: American Players Theatre of Wisconsin
American Players Theatre of Wisconsin Student Workshop at Mount Horeb High School in Mount Horeb, WI. From left, APT Actors Casey Hoekstra, Rasell Holt, and Trevyn Wong

Celebrating its 21st year in 2024, 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 conduct performances that use the works of William Shakespeare as an inspiration. 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, 2024 and July 31, 2025.

Applicants can choose a range of grant awards ($15k-$25k) to help smaller organizations meet the required match more easily. Four new Juvenile Justice grantees were awarded this year and six new grantees were awarded Schools grants.  

  • 140

    Theater companies and organizations have taken part in Shakespeare in American Communities

  • 62,000

    Educational activities have taken place at more than 12,400 schools and juvenile justice facilities

  • 4,900

    Communities have been reached in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia since 2003

“The experience of seeing a live, professional theater production can be eye-opening and transformative, especially when paired with educational activities that help students further understand the meaning of a play and the process by which it is created. We are pleased to continue our 20+ year history of helping theater companies expand their reach, including to students in rural and other underserved communities who might not otherwise have access to this opportunity.

National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD.

Examples of projects supported:

  • Drama Club

    Shakespeare in American Communities: Juvenile Justice

    FY2024
    New York

    Drama Club will bring Shakespeare’s text to life in ELA classes in 2 District 79 schools for adjudicated youth in NYC. Students will explore the language and themes of Hamlet, Macbeth, The Tempest, or Julius Caesar through improvisation as they build a culminating performance demonstrating their grasp of the material and its relevance to their lives.

    A group of nine people dynamically pose on a stage
  • Performance shot featuring actors with arms raised

    Black Arts MKE

    Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

    FY2024
    Wisconsin

    Black Arts MKE will celebrate the genius of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” to engage & empower youth by leveraging the characters who are challenging the status quo to inspire self-discovery, critical thinking & personal growth. Free student matinees & engaging activities (reflection journals, character monologues, etc)will empower youth to find their own voices via self-expression will be offered.

  • An exterior shot of the Barter Theater, the state theatre of Virginia. A marquee reads Footloose and Sense & Sensibility playing now.

    Barter Theatre

    Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

    FY2024
    Virginia

    Barter Theatre’s 2025 production of Hamlet will be performed at its 167-seat Smith Theatre for 9th-12th grade students in Central Appalachia. This production will highlight the similarities between the lives of the students of this region and Hamlet’s, and it will feature talkbacks and workshops designed to help Appalachian students claim Shakespeare as their own.

  • A stage full of actors dressed in Ancient Greek-inspired outfits.

    Marin Shakespeare Company

    Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

    FY2024
    California

    Marin Shakespeare Company will provide a free, 1-hour, bilingual adaptation of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. In this romantic comedy, the men will mainly speak Spanish and the women English, adding a new layer to Shakespeare’s comedy. Student groups may also receive free transportation and pre- and post-show classroom visits from actors. Our region has a high number of Spanish-speaking students.

Explore the Grantees

Below are lists of theater companies selected to participate in the Shakespeare in American Communities program for 2024-25. Or, explore all grantees in Arts Midwest’s searchable grantee database.

Grantee Database

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/OrganizationCityStateAward
Southwest Shakespeare CompanyMesaAZ $25,857
Gateway Regional Arts CenterMt. SterlingKY $19,857
Youth Arts: UnlockedSwartz CreekMI $25,857
¡Oye! GroupRidgewoodNY $25,857
Drama ClubJackson HeightsNY $25,857
Junior PlayersDallasTX $25,857
Texas Shakespeare FestivalKilgoreTX $20,857
TOTAL$169,999

Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

Grants to support performances of Shakespeare and related educational activities for students from five or more schools.

Theatre Company/OrganizationCityStateGrant
Alabama Shakespeare FestivalMontgomeryAL $25,000
A Noise WithinPasadenaCA $25,000
Marin Shakespeare CompanySan RafaelCA $25,000
San Francisco Shakespeare FestivalSan FranciscoCA $25,000
The Center for the ArtsGrass ValleyCA $20,000
Will Geer Theatricum BotanicumTopangaCA $25,000
Colorado Shakespeare FestivalDenverCO$25,000
Theatreworks Colorado SpringsColorado SpringsCO$25,000
Hartford StageHartfordCT$25,000
Valley Shakespeare festivalSheltonCT $15,080
The Andrew Keegan Theatre CompanyWashingtonDC $15,000
GableStageCoral GablesFL $15,000
Theater with a Mission (TWAM)TallahasseeFL $17,500
Atlanta Shakespeare CompanyAtlantaGA $25,000
Riverside TheatreIowa CityIA $20,000
Idaho Shakespeare FestivalBoiseID $25,000
Actors’ Shakespeare ProjectCharlestownMA $25,000
Commonwealth Shakespeare CompanyBostonMA $25,000
Shakespeare & CompanyLenoxMA$25,000
Theater at MonmouthMonmouthME$25,000
Northern Lakes Arts AssociationElyMN $25,000
Montana Shakespeare in the ParksBozemanMT$25,000
North Carolina Stage CompanyAshevilleNC$25,000
The Rose TheaterOmahaNE $15,000
The Shakespeare Theatre of New JerseyFlorham ParkNJ $25,000
Catskill Mountain ShakespeareWest KillNY$25,000
The Acting CompanyNew YorkNY$25,000
The Neo-Political CowgirlsEast HamptonNY$25,000
Theatre for a New AudienceNew YorkNY$25,000
Cincinnati Shakespeare CompanyCincinnatiOH$25,000
Portland Center StagePortlandOR $25,000
Lantern Theater CompanyPhiladelphiaPA $25,000
Pennsylvania Shakespeare FestivalCenter ValleyPA $25,000
Quintessence TheatrePhiladelphiaPA $25,000
Nashville Shakespeare FestivalNashvilleTN $25,000
Tennessee Shakespeare CompanyCordovaTN $25,000
Shakespeare DallasDallasTX $25,000
Texas Shakespeare FestivalKilgoreTX $20,000
Utah Shakespeare FestivalCedar CityUT $25,000
Barter TheatreAbingdonVA $25,000
Seattle RepSeattleWA $15,000
American Players TheatreSpring GreenWI $25,000
Black Arts MKEMilwaukeeWI$25,000
TOTAL$1,002,580