San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s mission is to make the words and themes of Shakespeare accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, financial status or level of education. By lowering practical and perceptual barriers, we encourage broad participation in the arts and make these activities a part of community life.
The Festival serves as a catalyst for audience development by reaching thousands of people who otherwise do not attend live theater or may have never experienced it at all. Our programming represents the plays in their finest light, demonstrates their relevance to today’s society, and inspires our students and audiences to seek out additional theatrical experiences.
We are dedicated to arts education, using our programs to foster a life-long appreciation of learning and the arts. We offer day camps and classes for children age 7 to 17, as well as in-school residencies and playshops.
Get all the info you need, including dates, times and locations, to attend this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest.
Experience welcome but not required for our Bay Area Shakespeare Camp programs for ages 7-13. Sign Up Now for the 2024 session at Santa Clara University! (The San Francisco sessions for ages 7-13 are filled to capacity.)
The Advanced Shakespeare Workshop (in San Francisco, ages 12-18, audition required) is currently accepting applications.
Bring the magic of live theater and the beauty of Shakespeare’s poetic language to YOUR location. Send your booking requests NOW for this popular title!
The September 9 panel conversation featured Stanford’s Dr. Roland Greene in conversation about The Tempest with SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz and Artistic Director Carla Pantoja.
Dr. Greene’s research and teaching are concerned with the early modern literatures of England, Latin Europe, and the transatlantic world, and with poetry and poetics from the Renaissance to the present.
Join us for this informative conversation about the rich themes and motifs found in The Tempest.
The August 19 panel conversation featured cast and company members from this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest in conversation with SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz and Artistic Director Carla Pantoja.
Behind-the-scenes perspectives were presented by actors David Everett Moore and Nic Moore and Music Director/Composer Jen Coogan and Costume Designer Bethany Deal.
The July 8 conversation featured Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper, the incoming Director of The Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC.
Board Member Dan Rabinowitz hosted this third discussion, in which he and SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja engaged in conversation about The Tempest with Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper. The discussion explored and examined her deeply thoughtful analysis of race, gender and otherness in The Tempest, along with a radical reappraisal of society in Elizabethan London, the backdrop from which Shakespeare’s plays emerged and against which they were presented.
The June 17 conversation featured this summers’ Free Shakes in the Park Director Rotimi Agbabiaka in conversation with SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja and was hosted by SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz.
Dan and Carla engaged in lively and insightful discussion with Rotimi, who shared his directorial perspectives on this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest and his intent to highlight the themes of forgiveness and recovering from loss.
We’re delighted to share a recording of this fascinating panel conversation (that took place on March 25), featuring Dr. Will Tosh, Head of Research at Shakespeare’s Globe, London in conversation with SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja and hosted by SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz.
Dan, Carla, and Will touched on a wide variety of the remarkable features and the artistic and historical context of this wonderful comedy. They see it as a remarkable social commentary that is just as relevant today as it was in 1599, as Shakespeare’s great implicit feminist statement, and as a play that touches on and implicates gender issues more broadly in ways that resonate with our audiences.
Shakespeare’s Heartbeat uses the Hunter Heartbeat Method developed by Kelly Hunter of Flute Theatre, utilizing the iambic pentameter (heartbeat rhythm) of Shakespeare’s words and the physicality of his characters to engage with students on the autism spectrum. Geared towards grades 4-12.
Our annual gala fundraiser returns April 20, 2024 with All The World’s A Stage at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club. Celebrating our 42 years of Shakespeare, there will be dining, a live performance of As You Like It, and everyone can participate in the auction to make donations and bid on wine, travel, experiences, and more.
Saturday Upstart Crows classes are physically and mentally engaging weekend sessions where students age 11-18 deepen their skills and knowledge through a comprehensive rehearsal process that explores language, history, voice, movement, text analysis, and play.
Check out Marilyn Fowler’s interview with Rotimi Agbabiaka, Director of San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest, and Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe*, who plays the role of Prospero, TODAY AT NOON on Bay Area radio station KPOO-FM 89.5
kpoo.com/
(*Member Actors' Equity Association)
#thetempest #sfshakes #sanfranciscoshakespearefestival #freeshakespeareintheparks #MarilynFowler #RotimiAgbabiaka #KPOOFM #ShakespeareInThePark #TheTempestSF
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The last 2 McLaren Park performances of The Tempest are today Sat, Sept 7 and tomorrow Sun, Sept 8 at 2 pm!
Join us and be transported to an enchanted island inhabited with magical creatures and clownish shipwrecked sailors!
The Tempest then moves to our new San Francisco venue: San Francisco's Sue Bierman Park and performs Sept 14 - 22 on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm.
sfshakes.org/tempest/
L to R: Kevin Clarke*, Alex Camerino, Nic Moore, Valerie Weak*, Brennan Pickman-Thoon*)
(*Member Actors' Equity Association / Photo: Neal Ormond / Costumes: Bethany Deal / Scenic Design: Neal Ormond / Props Master: Grace Beneprice)
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Tempest was great!!
DFT was a BLAST! Getting excited for "The Tempest" to take Sue Bierman Park by storm starting next Sat, Sept 14...can you spot the goddess Juno? sfshakes.org/tempest photographer
Sammy Braxton-Haney @sammyeventphotos
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the pinnacle of my arts career!!
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