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.
Joshua Feist, Grants Officer at Arts Midwest“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.”
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.
National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD.“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.
Examples of projects supported:
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 DatabaseShakespeare 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 |
---|---|---|---|
Southwest Shakespeare Company | Mesa | AZ | $25,857 |
Gateway Regional Arts Center | Mt. Sterling | KY | $19,857 |
Youth Arts: Unlocked | Swartz Creek | MI | $25,857 |
¡Oye! Group | Ridgewood | NY | $25,857 |
Drama Club | Jackson Heights | NY | $25,857 |
Junior Players | Dallas | TX | $25,857 |
Texas Shakespeare Festival | Kilgore | TX | $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/Organization | City | State | Grant |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama Shakespeare Festival | Montgomery | AL | $25,000 |
A Noise Within | Pasadena | CA | $25,000 |
Marin Shakespeare Company | San Rafael | CA | $25,000 |
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival | San Francisco | CA | $25,000 |
The Center for the Arts | Grass Valley | CA | $25,000 |
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum | Topanga | CA | $25,000 |
Colorado Shakespeare Festival | Denver | CO | $25,000 |
Theatreworks Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs | CO | $25,000 |
Hartford Stage | Hartford | CT | $25,000 |
Valley Shakespeare festival | Shelton | CT | $15,080 |
The Andrew Keegan Theatre Company | Washington | DC | $15,000 |
GableStage | Coral Gables | FL | $15,000 |
Theater with a Mission (TWAM) | Tallahassee | FL | $17,500 |
Atlanta Shakespeare Company | Atlanta | GA | $25,000 |
Riverside Theatre | Iowa City | IA | $20,000 |
Idaho Shakespeare Festival | Boise | ID | $25,000 |
Actors’ Shakespeare Project | Charlestown | MA | $25,000 |
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company | Boston | MA | $25,000 |
Shakespeare & Company | Lenox | MA | $25,000 |
Theater at Monmouth | Monmouth | ME | $25,000 |
Northern Lakes Arts Association | Ely | MN | $25,000 |
Montana Shakespeare in the Parks | Bozeman | MT | $25,000 |
North Carolina Stage Company | Asheville | NC | $25,000 |
The Rose Theater | Omaha | NE | $15,000 |
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey | Florham Park | NJ | $25,000 |
Catskill Mountain Shakespeare | West Kill | NY | $25,000 |
The Acting Company | New York | NY | $25,000 |
The Neo-Political Cowgirls | East Hampton | NY | $25,000 |
Theatre for a New Audience | New York | NY | $25,000 |
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company | Cincinnati | OH | $25,000 |
Portland Center Stage | Portland | OR | $25,000 |
Lantern Theater Company | Philadelphia | PA | $25,000 |
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival | Center Valley | PA | $25,000 |
Quintessence Theatre | Philadelphia | PA | $25,000 |
Nashville Shakespeare Festival | Nashville | TN | $25,000 |
Tennessee Shakespeare Company | Cordova | TN | $25,000 |
Shakespeare Dallas | Dallas | TX | $25,000 |
Texas Shakespeare Festival | Kilgore | TX | $20,000 |
Utah Shakespeare Festival | Cedar City | UT | $25,000 |
Barter Theatre | Abingdon | VA | $25,000 |
Seattle Rep | Seattle | WA | $15,000 |
American Players Theatre | Spring Green | WI | $25,000 |
Black Arts MKE | Milwaukee | WI | $25,000 |
TOTAL | $1,002,580 |