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 a fun event where you can watch plays by William Shakespeare and other talented writers. It takes place every summer in Bloomington, Illinois and Normal, Illinois, in the United States. The festival started way back in 1978, and in 2023, it celebrated its 45th year!
Each year, the festival usually puts on three different plays. While many of these are famous Shakespeare plays, they also show other kinds of theater. This can include funny plays from the past, like Restoration comedy, or plays that use special acting styles, like Commedia dell'arte. Sometimes, they even perform plays by writers from today.
The festival is put on by Illinois State University's School of Theatre, Dance, and Film. Most performances happen at the Ewing Cultural Center, in a special place called Ewing Theatre. This theater looks a lot like Shakespeare's famous Globe Theatre, with an open-air stage. The festival often calls itself "theatre under the stars." Before the main shows, you can often enjoy free entertainment, like live music or short performances. Since 2008, the festival has also offered special shows just for younger audiences, called Theatre for Young Audiences. These are usually on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
The Illinois Shakespeare Festival runs from late June through the middle of August each year.
Exploring the Festival's Past Plays
The Illinois Shakespeare Festival has performed many amazing plays over the years. Most of these plays were written by William Shakespeare, but the festival also includes other great stories.
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, adapted by Jeffrey Sweet from Henry VI, Part 1; Henry VI, Part 2; and Henry VI, Part 3
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 from the novel by Alexandre Dumas
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 from the novel by Alexandre Dumas
- 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, adapted by The Q Brothers from The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Richard II
- Love's Labor's Won by Scott Kaiser
2016
- Hamlet
- Twelfth Night
- Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice
2017
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Shakespeare’s Amazing Cymbeline, adapted by Chris Coleman from Cymbeline
- I Heart Juliet, adapted by The Q Brothers from Romeo and Juliet
2018
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Henry V
- Shakespeare in Love, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall from the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
2019
- As You Like It, adapted by Robert Quinlan and Jordan Coughtry
- Pride and Prejudice, adapted by Deanna Jent from the novel by Jane Austen
- Caesar, adapted by Quetta Carpenter from Julius Caesar
2020
- The festival was canceled this year 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
2024
- Twelfth Night
- Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Quetta Carpenter from the novel by Jane Austen
- Macbeth
2025
Meet the Artistic Directors
The Artistic Director is like the main leader of the festival. They decide which plays will be performed and help guide the creative vision. Here are the people who have held this important role:
- 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 (2018-2024)
- Robert Quinlan (2025-Present)
