South Dakota Shakespeare Festival

The mission of the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival is to engage, connect, and inspire communities by exploring our shared human experiences through inclusive, professional Shakespeare productions and theatre arts education.  Our organizational values are:  ACCESS, INCLUSION, INTEGRITY, and ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE.

Since 2012 the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival has produced free world-class, Shakespeare theatre in the Park, in Vermillion, South Dakota and education and engagement programming for children and adults, through partnerships with the University of South Dakota and local and regional schools and organizations. We value diversity and inclusion in our work and seek to create theatre and build audiences that reflect and nourish the diversity of our communities. This summer we were thrilled to be back in the park presenting Othello!

Our 2023 season consists of three program areas: 1) theatre arts workshops for youth, that explore topics such as acting principles, approaching Shakespeare, and Elizabethan costume crafts, 2) professional production of Shakespeare programming, 3) additional outreach programs in partnership with local and regional schools and organizations.

In keeping with our values of access and inclusion, all programs are offered at no cost to the public.