Idaho Shakespeare Festival

Boise, Idaho

Idaho Shakespeare Festival, in its 33rd year in 2009-2010, enjoys a strong audience, critical acclaim, and local community support. Five mainstage productions are performed from June to September for audiences exceeding 53,000. The festival also brings theater-arts programming to schools in 39 of Idaho's 44 counties, and its school tours, Idaho Theater for Youth program, and Shakesperience program annually reach more than 52,000 K-12 schoolchildren and teachers, including those in remote rural communities. The Drama School provides classes for students of all ages; summer camps, including Camp Shakespeare, Camp Improv, and Camp Musical, offer educational experiences to children 3-18 years of age. Apprenticeships and residencies are offered for extended theatrical training, and the Young Company provides pre-professional opportunities for those exploring careers in theater. The summer Access Program and The Shakespeare Society allow the festival to serve a variety of audiences who might otherwise be unable to participate. Idaho Shakespeare Festival's mission is to produce great theater, entertain, and educate. It is the flagship performing arts organization in Idaho, serving more than 110,000 individuals annually and providing professional performances, arts education, and outreach programs to diverse constituencies in the Inland Northwest.

As part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, Idaho Shakespeare Festival's 2010 Shakesperience tour will bring the works of Shakespeare to secondary students throughout Idaho and the Inland Northwest. Each 50-minute production is fully staged with sets, costumes, and music and is presented along with educational activities and materials. The company's actors/educators travel more than 7,000 miles to some of the region's most remote intermountain areas to bring Shakespeare's works to youth in grades 7–12. Study guides include a synopsis of the play, a biography of William Shakespeare, notes from the director, actor biographies, discussion questions, activities, and links to further resource materials. Post-performance question-and-answer sessions and workshops explore the themes an concepts in the play, as well as the discipline and artistic choices inherent to the process of theater.

http://www.idahoshakespeare.org/