Illinois Shakespeare Festival facts for kids
| Location | Bloomington, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Artistic director | John C. Stark |
| Festival date | Annually in June, July, August |
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 celebrated its 45th season in 2023. The Festival has traditionally presented three plays. Although all three may be Shakespeare plays, the Festival has also included different types of theater, such as Restoration comedy, Commedia dell'arte, or works by contemporary playwrights.
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 of the Globe Stage complete with open air amphitheater. The Festival markets itself as "theatre under the stars." Before many nightly performances, the Festival has presented free pre-show entertainment, including live jazz, abbreviated versions of the play to come, or other light or short performances. In 2008, the Festival began shows aimed towards younger audiences called Theatre for Young Audiences, which have traditionally been performed on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
The Festival runs from the later part of June through the middle of August.
Production history
Unless otherwise noted, the plays are written by William Shakespeare.
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
- King Henry IV, Part 2
- Love's Labour's Lost
- Othello
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
- Julius Caesar
- Much Ado About Nothing
- The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
- Cymbeline
- Henry IV, Part 2
- The Comedy of Errors
1996
- Twelfth Night
- The Tempest
- The Triumph of Love by Pierre de Marivaux
1997
- Hamlet
- All's Well That Ends Well
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
1998
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Measure for Measure
- The Falcon's Pitch, an adaptation by Jeffrey Sweet of Shakespeare's Henry VI plays
1999
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Richard III
- Wild Oats by John O'Keefe
2000
- The Taming of the Shrew
- King John
- The Three Musketeers adapted by Eberle Thomas and Barbara Redmond
2001
- Love's Labour's Lost
- Coriolanus
- Othello
2002
- Merchant of Venice
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Romeo and Juliet
2003
- As You Like It
- King Lear
- Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Titus Andronicus
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Alive!)
2009
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Richard III
- Scapin adapted by Bill Irwin and Mark O’Donnell
- The Tempest (Shakespeare Alive!)
2010
- The Tempest
- The Three Musketeers adapted by Robert Kauzlaric
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- As You Like It (Shakespeare Alive!)
2011
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield
- The Winter's Tale
- Romeo and Juliet
- Twelfth Night (TYA)
2012
- As You Like It
- Othello
- The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
- The Comedy of Errors (TYA)
2013
- The Comedy of Errors
- Macbeth
- Failure: A Love Story by Philip Dawkins
- The Magical Mind of Billy Shakespeare (TYA) by Kevin Rich
2014
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Antony and Cleopatra
- Elizabeth Rex by Timothy Findley
2015
- Love's Labour's Lost
- Q Gents — an adaptation of The Two Gentlemen of Verona by The Q Brothers
- Richard II
- Love's Labor's Won by Scott Kaiser
2016
- Hamlet
- Twelfth Night
- Peter and the Starcatcher
2017
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Shakespeare’s Amazing Cymbeline -- adapted by Chris Coleman
- I Heart Juliet - an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by The Q Brothers
2018
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Henry V
- Shakespeare in Love - adapted for the stage by Lee Hall and based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
2019
- As You Like It - adapted by Robert Quinlan and Jordan Coughtry
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - adapted by Deanna Jent
- Caesar - adapted from Julius Caesar (play) by Quetta Carpenter
2020
- Festival canceled due to the pandemic
2021
2022
- Much Ado About Nothing
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield
- King Lear
2023
- The Comedy of Errors
- The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson
- The Tempest
Artistic Directors
- Cal Pritner (1978-1991)
- John Sipes (1991-1995)
- Cal MacLean (1996-2006)
- Alec Wild (2007)
- Deb Alley (2008-2012)
- Kevin Rich (2013–2017)
- John C. Stark (2017-present)
