Alabama Shakespeare Festival facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alabama Shakespeare Festival |
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The Carolyn Blount Theatre has been home to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival since 1985.
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| Genre | Shakespeare festival |
| Location(s) | Montgomery, Alabama |
| Years active | 1972–2019, 2021– (51 or 52 years) |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Website | asf.net |
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) is one of the biggest Shakespeare festivals in the world. It's located in the Carolyn Blount Theatre in Montgomery, Alabama.
Each year, ASF puts on 6 to 9 plays. They usually include three plays by William Shakespeare. Other plays are from different styles and time periods. Some even focus on stories from the Southern states. The festival also helps new writers create plays about Southern themes. More than 300,000 people visit ASF each year. They come from all over the United States and many other countries!
History of the Festival
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival started in 1972. It began as a summer theater project in Anniston. The very first play was in the Anniston High School auditorium. Only a critic and his wife came to watch. The critic thought the play was not very good. He even said ASF would not last.
But the festival kept going! They put on many creative plays. One example was Taming of the Shrew, set in New York City in the 1950s. Over time, ASF became well-known and received good reviews. However, it needed more money to keep going.
In December 1985, ASF moved to Montgomery. This happened because Mr. and Mrs. Winton Blount gave a huge gift. They donated $21.5 million to build a new performing arts center. This center is in the Winton M. Blount Cultural Park. The park is 250 acres (about 1 square kilometer) and has beautiful gardens.
The Carolyn Blount Theatre is part of this center. It has two main stages. The Festival Stage can seat 792 people. The Octagon Theatre is smaller, with 225 seats. The festival did not have a season in 2020.
Learning and Training
Until 2009, ASF had a special program. It was for actors who wanted to become professionals. This program worked with the University of Alabama. Students could earn a M.F.A. degree.
Some famous actors came from this program. Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz was one. Emmy Award winner Michael Emerson was another. On April 25, 2008, ASF announced that the program would end. The last students graduated in August 2009.
See also
- Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, also located in Montgomery's Blount Cultural Park.
