The Shakespeare Society

The Shakespeare Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the enjoyment, understanding, and appreciation of William Shakespeare’s works through performance, commentary, and educational activities.

The Shakespeare Society’s humanist mission – artistic, literary, and educational – is to bring to everyone the joy and transformative power of Shakespeare’s works. It is the only organization of its kind in New York City devoted entirely to this purpose. Our programs serve the city’s entire population – laymen and academics, students and teachers, audience members and theater professionals, young and old.

Our artistic programs feature actors performing excerpts from the plays, live and on film; academics discussing the plays’ language and meaning; Metropolitan Opera artists singing portions of operas based on the plays; American Ballet Theatre dancers presenting excerpts from Shakespeare-inspired ballets; and panel discussions with directors, actors, and other thinkers about the plays themselves, productions old and new, and how these works speak to modern audiences.

We offer educational opportunities to adults as well as children, including study seminars, in-school workshops, and the Hunts Point Children’s Shakespeare Ensemble after school program for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in the South Bronx.  We provide artistic development opportunities to professional artists and theatrical institutions in support of their efforts to more knowledgeably and profoundly produce Shakespeare’s plays. Most important, we make all of our programming available at specially-discounted rates to teachers, students, artists, and young people.

To learn more about The Shakespeare Society and upcoming events and programs, visit our website at www.shakespearesociety.org.