Austin Shakespeare Festival Co Inc

Austin Shakespeare presents professional theater of the highest quality with an emphasis on the plays of William Shakespeare, bringing to the public performances that are fresh, bold, imaginative, thought-provoking and eminently accessible, connecting the truths of the past with the challenges and possibilities of today

From the teen actors in the Young Shakespeare Company’s summer program to professional actors, including members of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA / the union for professional stage actors and stage managers), Austin Shakespeare wants audiences to experience classical works that are grand in emotional scale, imaginative in vision and intimately truthful.

Equity and non-Equity actors train together to embody the depth and breadth of Shakespeare’s characters -- and to speak the text with beauty, clarity and spontaneity. We seek to develop an approach to acting that spans two poles: from the intimacy of film experience to the grandeur of theatricality. As we perform regularly on a stage that is a replica of the outdoor Elizabethan, Curtain Theater, we discover more and more how to connect with the audience in ways that are accessible, energetic, imaginative and thoughtful.