Kentucky Shakespeare

The Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth as designated by the Kentucky legislature, we are a professional theatre company and the most comprehensive in-school arts provider in the state.

Mission

Grounded in the works of Shakespeare, we enrich our community by presenting accessible, professional theatre experiences that educate, inspire and entertain people of all ages.

Vision

To use Shakespeare’s universal truths and the power of the arts to transform lives. Shakespeare belongs to everyone.

About Kentucky Shakespeare

Founded in 1949, Kentucky Shakespeare currently serves 100,000+ people annually through the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park, education programs in schools, public performances, and community outreach. As the most comprehensive in-school arts education provider in Kentucky, last season Kentucky Shakespeare toured to 83 counties, serving 70,000+ students with interactive educational programming directly tied to academic standards, helping impact student achievement. Our many community programs explore conflict resolution, empathy building, and communication, in a range of settings from preschools to senior centers.

Kentucky Shakespeare has been recognized by the Folger Library and the Kentucky Humanities Council for exemplary programming, is a multiyear recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Shakespeare in American Communities program, and is a past recipient of the Kentucky Governor’s Award in the Arts. Kentucky Shakespeare has been awarded multiple LEO Weekly Reader’s Choice Awards, Broadway World Louisville Regional Awards, the 2015 Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s Art of Vision Pyramid Award, and the 2017 Louisville Awards in the Arts Bobby Petrino Family Foundation Arts Impact Award.