Illinois Shakespeare Festival

The Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) is held in Bloomington, Illinois, United States at Ewing Theatre and in Normal, Illinois, United States at the Center for Performing Arts Theatre at Illinois State University. The Festival began in 1978 and will celebrate its 43nd season in the summer of 2021. The Festival usually presents three pieces by "The Bard" as a revolving rep, though occasionally the third piece is from a contemporaneous playwright.

Illinois Shakespeare Festival
LocationBloomington, Illinois, United States
Founded1978
Artistic directorJohn C. Stark[1]
Festival dateAnnually in June, July, August
Websiteillinoisshakes.com

The Festival is produced by the School of Theatre and Dance and the College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University. Performances take place at Ewing Cultural Center on Ewing Theatre, a re-creation Globe Stage complete with open air amphitheater. The Festival markets itself as "theatre under the stars!" Before each nightly performance (except Mondays), the Festival presents a free pre-show entertainment, including live jazz, an abbreviated version of the play to come, or other fun performances. The Ewing Grounds serve as picnicking spots for the audience. The Festival runs from the later part of June through the middle of August. In 2008, The Festival began a fourth show aimed towards younger audiences (Theatre for Young Audiences) which is usually performed on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at 10am.

Production History

Unless otherwise noted, the plays are written by William Shakespeare.[2]

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Such publications as the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times have given the Festival positive reviews.

References

  1. Craft, Dan (25 August 2017). "Stark named fest artistic director". The Pantagraph. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  2. "2013 ISF Annual Report" (PDF). Archived from the original on December 12, 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2016.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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