Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC) is a resident ensemble theater company bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages. Each season, CSC produces seven professional mainstage productions; the annual CSC Summer Fling , a family-oriented production that runs during July and August; and the CSC Studio Series, an opportunity for audiences to rediscover lesser-known works by major playwrights and experience new adaptations of classic plays. All productions run for four to six weeks and feature members of the CSC resident acting company and young company. CSC is committed to the resident acting ensemble model and believes that a permanent company of actors creates a sense of cohesion and unity, which is reflected on stage in high-quality performances. Young ensemble members grow and mature under the mentorship of veteran professionals, who find themselves working in a challenging yet supportive environment that allows for experimentation and bold performance choices. The company is dedicated to presenting Shakespeare and the classics in a style that is relevant and accessible to modern audiences, and believes that the classics resonate with universal themes that explore and reveal the timeless aspects of human nature. It is the company's intent to ensure that these works are preserved and performed for as wide an audience as possible. In addition to its work on the stage, CSC is committed to educating young people about Shakespeare and the classics through its education programs. By doing so, the company enriches students' lives and creates a new generation of Shakespeare fans.

Each year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company produces two-hour tour performances, which are adaptations of full-length plays using original Shakespeare texts. In the 2008–2009 season, CSC will visit a projected 80 schools, presenting Shakespeare's epic Macbeth and his lighthearted comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. CSC's education programs are performed and made possible by its young company, a group of six to eight early-career professional actors. Over the past four seasons, more than a third of the schools served by CSC's programs have reached students in deeply under-funded rural and inner city schools. The company's experience in bringing Shakespeare to children is that students from all backgrounds respond positively to the programming, and that underserved students are particularly affected by it. Twenty-four of these underserved schools are high schools, an age group in which disadvantaged or problem youth are frequently written off as “too late for help.” Support from the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest will assist CSC by allowing it to further expand its programs into rural areas, particularly to schools in rural Kentucky and Appalachia . The current plans include offering tours to 15 schools either at a discount or completely free of charge. CSC presents the classics in a manner that sparks interest and enhances the learning experience for young people. Since the inception of its educational programs, the company has brought Shakespeare to more than 100,000 children, many of whom would never otherwise have the chance to see a classic play brought to life.

Visit them at: www.cincyshakes.com