African-American Shakespeare Company

African-American Shakespeare Company was established in 1994 by professional theater artists from the American Conservatory Theatres as an alternative answer to the “color-blind casting” initiative that began in the early 1990s. African-American Shakespeare Company was inspired to highlight these artists’ dynamic cultural vibrancy within classical productions. For more than 16 years, the company has produced more than 30 productions, toured to schools, and has reached patrons through mainstage productions and arts-education programs. The goal is to bring the classics to a diverse community in a way that would appeal to their aesthetic; the overall vision and desire is to demonstrate through the arts our universal similarities by sharing, appreciating, and nurturing the human spirit through art. The company’s distinctive productions have included a hip-hop version of Macbeth, a version of Othello set in a law office with Iago as a Black woman, The Importance of Being Earnest set in the Harlem Renaissance, and a Gospel version of Antigone.