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 will celebrate its 43nd season in the summer of 2021. The Festival usually presents three pieces by "The Bard" as a revolving rep, though occasionally the third piece is from a contemporaneous playwright.
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 Globe Stage complete with open air amphitheater. The Festival markets itself as "theatre under the stars!" Before each nightly performance (except Mondays), the Festival presents a free pre-show entertainment, including live jazz, an abbreviated version of the play to come, or other fun performances. The Ewing Grounds serve as picnicking spots for the audience. The Festival runs from the later part of June through the middle of August. In 2008, The Festival began a fourth show aimed towards younger audiences (Theatre for Young Audiences) which is usually performed on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at 10am.
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 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
2002
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 Labours 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
Such publications as the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times have given the Festival positive reviews.
