San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s mission is to make the words and themes of Shakespeare accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, financial status or level of education. By lowering practical and perceptual barriers, we encourage broad participation in the arts and make these activities a part of community life.
The Festival serves as a catalyst for audience development by reaching thousands of people who otherwise do not attend live theater or may have never experienced it at all. Our programming represents the plays in their finest light, demonstrates their relevance to today’s society, and inspires our students and audiences to seek out additional theatrical experiences.
We are dedicated to arts education, using our programs to foster a life-long appreciation of learning and the arts. We offer day camps and classes for children age 7 to 17, as well as in-school residencies and playshops.
Get all the info you need, including dates, times and locations, to attend this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest.
Experience welcome but not required for our Bay Area Shakespeare Camp programs for ages 7-13. Sign Up Now for the 2024 session at Santa Clara University! (The San Francisco sessions for ages 7-13 are filled to capacity.)
The Advanced Shakespeare Workshop (in San Francisco, ages 12-18, audition required) is currently accepting applications.
Bring the magic of live theater and the beauty of Shakespeare’s poetic language to YOUR location. Send your booking requests NOW for this popular title!
Our annual gala fundraiser returns April 20, 2024 with All The World’s A Stage at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club. Celebrating our 42 years of Shakespeare, there will be dining, a live performance of As You Like It, and everyone can participate in the auction to make donations and bid on wine, travel, experiences, and more.
We’re delighted to share a recording of this fascinating panel conversation (that took place on March 25), featuring Dr. Will Tosh, Head of Research at Shakespeare’s Globe, London in conversation with SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja and hosted by SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz.
Dan, Carla, and Will touched on a wide variety of the remarkable features and the artistic and historical context of this wonderful comedy. They see it as a remarkable social commentary that is just as relevant today as it was in 1599, as Shakespeare’s great implicit feminist statement, and as a play that touches on and implicates gender issues more broadly in ways that resonate with our audiences.
Our next conversation series features this summers’ Free Shakes in the Park Director Rotimi Agababiaka.
Board Member Dan Rabinowitz, and SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja will engage in lively and insightful discussion with Rotimi Agbabiaka, who will share his directorial perspectives on this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest and his intent to highlight the themes of forgiveness and recovering from loss.
The July 8 conversation features Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper, the incoming Head of The Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC.
Board Member Dan Rabinowitz will host this third discussion, in which he and SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja will engage in conversation about The Tempest with Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper. The discussion will explore and examine her deeply thoughtful analysis of race, gender and otherness in The Tempest, along with a radical reappraisal of society in Elizabethan London, the backdrop from which Shakespeare’s plays emerged and against which they were presented.
Shakespeare’s Heartbeat uses the Hunter Heartbeat Method developed by Kelly Hunter of Flute Theatre, utilizing the iambic pentameter (heartbeat rhythm) of Shakespeare’s words and the physicality of his characters to engage with students on the autism spectrum. Geared towards grades 4-12.
Saturday Upstart Crows classes are physically and mentally engaging weekend sessions where students age 11-18 deepen their skills and knowledge through a comprehensive rehearsal process that explores language, history, voice, movement, text analysis, and play.
Date requests now being accepted for our Feb-May 2025 touring production of 'Romeo and Juliet'.
The troupe arrives with sets, props, and costumes to stage an hour-long engaging and enriching performance that will be enjoyed by students and adults alike. Walk-on roles for volunteers are included to enhance audience engagement. Educator's curriculum materials are provided that will help prepare students to more fully appreciate the play.
This classic tale is one of Shakespeare's most popular titles and is sure to book quickly. Send your date requests NOW to bring the magic of live theater and the beauty of Shakespeare’s poetic language to YOUR location with Shakespeare on Tour!
sfshakes.org/tour-booking/
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Meet the talented cast of Free Shakespeare in the Park’s 2024 production of ‘The Tempest’
Top row, L to R:
Alex Camerino (Miranda), Phoebe Chou (Percussionist), Kevin Clarke* (Ariel/Gonzalo), Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe* (Prospero), Adam KuveNiemann* (Caliban/Sebastian), David Moore*+ (Antonio/Stephano, July 20-Aug 11)
Bottom row, L to R:
Nic Moore (Ferdinand/Trinculo), Brennan Pickman-Thoon* (Antonio/Stephano, Aug 17-Sept 8th), Valerie Weak* (Alonso); Joel Ochoa (U/S Ferdinand/Trinculo/Miranda), William Rogue (U/S Alonso/Antonio/Stephano/Ariel/Gonzalo)
(*Member Actors’ Equity Association; +SF Shakes Resident Artist)
See bios at sfshakes.org/performance/free-shakes/tempest/#cast
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Congrats Alex! The gal in those glasses is already upstaging everyone - watch out! LOL
Check out Rotimi Agbabiaka (Director of this summer’s Free Shakes production of ‘The Tempest’) as The Emcee in Center REP's production of ‘Cabaret’!
May 26 - June 23 at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek
www.lesherartscenter.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/15639/3146
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SAN FRANCISCO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
PO Box 46093
San Francisco, CA 94146-0937
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