American Players Theatre

Founded in 1979, American Players Theatre (APT) is a professional, summer theater devoted to classical work with an on Shakespeare. The company’s 1,148-seat outdoor amphitheater, Up the Hill, resides beneath the sky in a setting of extraordinary natural beauty, and they also have a 201-seat indoor theater, Touchstone Theatre, nestled between prairie and woods. From June through October, APT produced eight plays in rotating repertory. Their mission is to explore the extraordinary qualities that have allowed the great plays of the Western canon to endure through the ages, and make them vividly accessible to a large and varied audience. Education is central to APT's mission, and the company's outreach program enhances appreciation, understanding, and respect for language and classical theater in learners of all ages. APT believes that sharing techniques that bring dramatic poetry to life can lead not only to an appreciation of Shakespeare's work, but a greater regard for all poetry and insight into some of the more mysteriously potent ways in which language can work.

As part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, American Players Theatre will offer student matinee performances of The Taming of the Shrew and The Tempest. All schools that attend a performance are offered one of APT's long-standing and highly respected workshops free of charge. These workshops occur during the season and enable students to intensify their experience through extended, in-classroom interactions with professional actors and artisans. In addition, APT's residency program, Potency of Poetry, will be conducted off-season and will use the unique performance skills of the company's teaching artists to infuse students with an enthusiasm and enhanced appreciation of the words, language, and storytelling, ultimately laying the groundwork for a student population better equipped to understand and appreciate complex text such as Shakespeare's.