Info

The American Shakespeare Center is and always has been a touring company. In our 17-year history we have taken affordable, accessible Shakespeare to audiences in more than 45 U.S. states, five other countries, and one U.S. territory. Each year the ASC on tour travels 50,000 miles to performing arts centers, universities, and high schools. Actors on ASC tours (and at home at the Blackfriars Playhouse) also lead a wide variety of hands-on workshops for high school classrooms, college English and drama classes, and performing arts symposiums that provide an intimate learning experience. Perhaps most importantly, our audiences, both in the Blackfriars Playhouse (the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's indoor theatre) and on the road, rediscover the sense of community created by Shakespeare's staging conditions. Because all of Shakespeare's plays were originally performed under universal lighting in which actor and audience alike shared the natural light of the sun or full illumination of a room lit by candelabras and wall sconces (and sunlight through the windows), Shakespeare's spectators were always a visible part of the production. This sense of community is one of our main goals, and we have seen it work from Ivy League colleges to inner-city high schools. Audiences discover that Shakespeare has written them collectively and individually into the show; and to ensure that everyone in the audience can see themselves in the plays, male and female actors of all races are considered for all roles. Such an approach to Shakespeare is not simply a matter of authenticity, but also a matter of economics. Without the need for lights, sets, sound systems, and the paraphernalia of most modern theatres, the American Shakespeare Center can bring affordable Shakespeare to communities from coast to coast, and the productions -- lively and accessible shows in which audiences see themselves -- can change minds about the meaning of the word "Shakespeare."