Alabama Shakespeare Festival Inc

During the 2011-2012 Season, ASF will stage nine plays in its theatre.  Every play is a work of art created for the enjoyment of audiences from the ground up.  Professional actors are hired to perform in every play.  Artisans build all of the costumes, sets and props that audiences see on stage.   

 

Programs

Southern Writers’ Project
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is as dedicated to creating new works as it is to Shakespeare and the classics.  Through its Southern Writers’ Project (SWP), the theatre has produced 26 world-premiere plays.  SWP commissions, develops, and produces new theatre about the South or by Southern playwrights. 

 

ASF offers many arts education programs.

SchoolFest
For many students, their first exposure to any professional theater is through ASF’s SchoolFest program.  This educational student-matinee program provides students from across the Southeast with subsidized tickets for a performance of one of the ASF’s plays.  Teachers are supplied with study materials to help them prepare their classes and give them methods to incorporate the play into the curriculum. 

 

Teacher Workshops
For teachers, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival offers teacher seminars to help provide teachers with the necessary tools to incorporate theatre into the curriculum.  These accredited workshops introduce teachers to new ideas that are reinforced by ASF plays.  Teachers then take the information they learn back to the classroom.

 

In-School Workshops
As part of its dedication to arts education, ASF offers in-school workshops on Shakespeare and other classic works of literature.  The workshops begin with an abridged production of the selected piece of theatre followed by an interactive lesson led by ASF’s actors on the language and themes of the piece.  By performing theatre in the schools, ASF can continue to bring classic works of literature to students who cannot travel to ASF.

 

In addition, ASF’s education department offers classes and summer camps to teach students about acting and about Shakespeare.