For the second year, there are three different grant opportunities available.

Theaters can bring Shakespeare’s works to life for students with support from the Schools and Juvenile Justice Programs, or offer hands-on opportunities for early-career theater professionals with support from the Apprenticeships Program. The programming that apprentices support does NOT have to be Shakespeare-related

Shakespeare in American Communities At A Glance

• What is it? Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program that provides grants to nonprofit theater organizations in the U.S. to present high-quality productions and educational activities based on Shakespeare’s works. There are three grant opportunities available: the Schools Program, Juvenile Justice Program, and Apprenticeships Program.
• Who can apply? Nonprofit theater organizations with at least two years of relevant experience for their chosen grant opportunity are welcome to apply. Take a short eligibility quiz to find out which opportunity is the best fit for your organization.
• Where? Your organization must be located and operate within the United States or the Native Nations that share this geography.
• When to apply? A mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 29, 2026, with final applications due February 12, 2026.

Take an Eligibility Quiz

Curious which Shakespeare in American Communities grant is the best fit for your organization? Take a short eligibility quiz to find out!

Schools Program: Brings Shakespeare-inspired theater and education programs to middle and high schools, with new flexibility to perform in community venues. Matching grants range from $15,000 to $25,000.

Juvenile Justice Program: Engages young people in juvenile justice settings, offering performances and workshops. Non-matching grants range from $15,000 to $25,000.

Apprenticeships Program: Supports theater companies in providing paid apprenticeships to early-career theater professionals. Matching grants range from $20,000 to $30,000.

Take the Quiz

Photo Credit: Kelsey Tidball, courtesy of Actors’ Shakespeare Project

About Shakespeare in American Communities

An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with Arts Midwest, Shakespeare in American Communities brings the works of William Shakespeare to students, communities, and juvenile justice facilities across the country.

Since its inception in 2003, Shakespeare in American Communities has supported more than 16,000 performances and 60,000 educational activities in all 50 states. Each year, the program reaches thousands of young people with inspiring productions and hands-on learning experiences.

Through the Schools program, organizations can also stage productions and educational activities in community settings, expanding access beyond traditional schools alone. Grantees are not required to produce original Shakespeare plays. Rather, they may use adaptations or create new work inspired by William Shakespeare.  

Grantees will participate in virtual and in-person gatherings with other program participants. Travel, lodging, and some meal costs for one representative will be covered.

Get Ready to Apply

For more details on how to apply and to explore our guidelines, visit the Shakespeare in American Communities program page.

Learn More

Photo Credit: Ivan Lopez, courtesy of GableStage Theatre Company

The post Now Accepting Applications: 2026-27 Shakespeare in American Communities appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Now in its 22nd year, Shakespeare in American Communities is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The initiative brings high-quality Shakespeare productions and educational activities to communities across America, with a new addition this cycle: theater apprenticeships for early-career professionals.

“Investing in apprenticeships today helps ensure the theater field has the talent and expertise it needs for the future,” says Arts Midwest President & CEO Torrie Allen. “By pairing the timeless works of Shakespeare with hands-on training, we aim to help young people build the real-world skills that will support lasting careers.”

Grants were awarded through three distinct tracks:

• $447,500 to 17 nonprofit theaters offering apprenticeship programs for early-career administrators and technicians working across theater sectors.
• $435,000 to 18 professional theater companies partnering with schools to present productions and education programs rooted in the works of William Shakespeare.
• $171,300 to 7 nonprofits providing theater education for students in juvenile justice settings.

Shakespeare in American Communities: Apprenticeships

Grants to support paid apprenticeships for early administrators and technicians working at theaters throughout the United States.

Shakespeare in American Communities: Juvenile Justice

Grants to support theater education programs in juvenile justice facilities that illuminate the works of Shakespeare and address his work in a modern context.

Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

Grants to support performances of Shakespeare and related educational activities for students from five or more schools.

The post Announcing the 2025-26 Shakespeare in American Communities Grantees appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Founded during the Great Depression, they got their name from their policy of allowing theatregoers to “buy” admission with fresh produce, livestock, or dairy—in its early days, 4 out of 5 patrons traded their way to a ticket, valued then at 35 cents.

Even though times have changed, the theatre hasn’t—everything Barter does continues to be rooted in community, and their philosophy that theatre is for everyone.

It remains the beating heart of Abingdon, a rural town in Southwest Virginia. It’s one of the country’s oldest professional resident repertory theaters—meaning their plays throughout the season are performed by has their own full-time, paid theatre troupe based out of Abingdon itself.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Barter Theatre

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Barter Theatre

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Barter Theatre

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Barter Theatre

Their current production of Hamlet, funded in part by Shakespeare in American Communities, is a perfect example—while their performances are open to all, Barter has long-standing connections with the region’s schools to bring in hundreds of students to performances every year.

“Because of this partnership, almost every kid who’s grown up here has seen Shakespeare,” says Producing Artistic Director Katy Brown.

Every show opens with a lightning round-style summary of the show with the cast explaining major plot points and characters, without spoiling the final act.

What started as a teaching aid for their student matinees eventually became so widely requested by their adult audiences that it’s now baked into all of their Shakespeare performances.

“I think there’s some sort of idea that [Shakespeare is] broccoli, and that’s never the experience that people have,” says Brown. “He wrote for everybody, and our goal from the beginning has been to make sure people know that Shakespeare is theirs.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Barter Theatre

Photo Credit: Mia McGill

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Barter Theatre

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Barter Theatre

Students and adult audience members alike can participate in talkbacks after every show with the director and cast members, which further brings the text to life.

“I’ve had grown-ups speak to me and say, ‘I thought that I was too dumb for Shakespeare, but I understood absolutely every word,’” says Brown.

But what makes Barter special is that the place is just as important as the people—as a company, they’re successful not despite being in small-town Appalachia, but rather because of their unique rural setting.

They not only keep Abingdon alive and thriving in terms of tourism—bringing in over 120,000 visitors a year to a town with a population of around 8,500—but also provide an incredibly rare opportunity for their performers and creative team to make a real living out of their work.

With Barter presenting around 20 shows per season, their company is kept plenty busy; during their peak in the summer, they have as many as five shows running at a time. 

“You might be in Shakespeare while you’re rehearsing the musical, while you’re rehearsing a new work,” says Brown. “So many times when you work in theater, you move and move and move, and you don’t get to put down roots—but our artists get to have a life, a home, and a family here, and really get to know the people that we’re serving.”

Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. It provides grants of up to $30,000 for programs that connect young people across the country to Shakespeare’s plays.

The post Shakespeare for All in Rural Appalachia, Rooted in Soil and Soul appeared first on Arts Midwest.

This year, we are excited to introduce a new grant program for paid Apprenticeships. Grants of up to $30,000 offer theaters the ability to provide opportunities for early-career professionals to gain hands-on experience in roles such as set design, operations, and theater administration. The programming that apprentices support does NOT have to be Shakespeare related. 

As in previous years, theaters can continue to bring Shakespeare’s works to life for students through our Schools and Juvenile Justice grant programs.

Shakespeare in American Communities At-A-Glance

• What is it? Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program that provides grants to nonprofit theater organizations in the U.S. to present high-quality productions and educational activities based on Shakespeare’s works. There are three grant opportunities available: the Schools Program, Juvenile Justice Program, and Apprenticeships Program.
• Who can apply? Nonprofit theater organizations that have at least two years of relevant experience for their chosen grant opportunity. Take a short eligibility quiz to find out which opportunity is the best fit for your organization.
• Where? Your organization must be located and operate within the United States or the Native Nations that share this geography.
• When to apply? A mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 30, 2025, with final applications due February 13, 2025.

Take an Eligibility Quiz

Curious which Shakespeare in American Communities grant is the best fit for your organization? Take a short eligibility quiz to find out!

Schools Program: Brings Shakespeare-inspired theater and education programs to middle and high schools, with new flexibility to perform in community venues. Matching grants range from $15,000 to $25,000  

Juvenile Justice Program: Engages young people in juvenile justice settings, offering performances and workshops. Non-matching grants range from $15,000 to $25,000.  

Apprenticeships Program: New this year, supports theater companies in providing paid apprenticeships to early-career theater professionals. Matching grants range from $20,000 to $30,000

Take the Quiz

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

Cincinatti, OH

Shakespeare in American Communities

Photo Credit: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

About Shakespeare in American Communities

An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with Arts Midwest, Shakespeare in American Communities brings the works of William Shakespeare to students, communities, and juvenile justice facilities across the country.

Since its inception in 2003, Shakespeare in American Communities has supported more than 16,000 performances and 60,000 educational activities in all 50 states. Each year, the program reaches thousands of young people with inspiring productions and hands-on learning experiences.

New this year, the Schools program continues to offer more flexibility in where and how performances and educational activities take place. Organizations can now stage productions and educational activities in community settings, expanding access beyond traditional schools. Grantees are also not required to produce original Shakespeare plays. Rather, they may use adaptations or create new work inspired by William Shakespeare.  

Also new this year, grantees will particpate in virtual and in-person convenings with other program participants. Travel, lodging, and some meal costs for one representative will be covered.

Get Ready to Apply

For more details on how to apply and to explore our guidelines, visit the Shakespeare in American Communities program page.

Learn More

American Players Theatre of Wisconsin

Mount Horeb, WI

Shakespeare in American Communities

Photo Credit: American Players Theatre of Wisconsin

The post Now Accepting Applications: 2025-26 Shakespeare in American Communities appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Photo Credit: American Players Theatre of Wisconsin

Celebrating its 21st year in 2024, Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The program supports high-quality productions and educational activities exploring the work of William Shakespeare in middle schools, high schools, and juvenile justice facilities throughout the United States.

Theater companies are able to choose to either perform a play by Shakespeare or conduct performances that use the works of William Shakespeare as an inspiration. Paired with these performances, each company will host educational activities with students to creatively explore Shakespeare’s work and its context. These performances and educational events will take place between August 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025.

Applicants can choose a range of grant awards ($15k-$25k) to help smaller organizations meet the required match more easily. Four new Juvenile Justice grantees were awarded this year and six new grantees were awarded Schools grants.  

Shakespeare in American Communities: Juvenile Justice

Grants to support theater education programs in juvenile justice facilities that illuminate the works of Shakespeare and addresses his work in modern context.

Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

Grants to support performances of Shakespeare and related educational activities for students from five or more schools.

The post Announcing the 2024-25 Shakespeare in American Communities Grantees appeared first on Arts Midwest.

He had taken up composing poetry and writing children’s books when he came across a poster from Marin Shakespeare Company. It was advertising a production of Julius Caesar taking place inside the prison’s walls, performed and produced entirely by and for the men incarcerated in Solano State Prison.

Thinking that it would help advance his writing, Brooks signed up. After being enlisted to play the titular role in that first production, he went on to perform in six more plays before his release late last year.

This year, he’ll keep up the practice he picked up in prison when he performs in productions of Julius Caesar for local school groups this spring. “It’s just been so much more than what I intended when I signed up for it,” Brooks says.

Acting became Brooks’ way of escaping prison life. Even though some of his friends and acquaintances throughout the prison questioned his participation, he stuck with it.

“When we performed, we had incarcerated individuals watching. There were some guards there, too,” he recalls. “But when you’re watching Shakespeare, everyone is just a human being watching something. It just made us people.”

Eventually CNN came to do a story on Shakespeare in Prison, the Marin Shakespeare Company effort supported in part by funding from Shakespeare in American Communities. That’s when the sentiment really started to change.

“Even guards had seen it and were talking about it,” Brooks says, referring to the CNN piece. “It definitely had an impact on the prison.”

 

Dameion Brown, also previously incarcerated at Solano, performed in that first production of Julius Caesar, too. In fact, he recalls being the first to sign up. Brown was determined to spend his time in prison supporting his fellow incarcerees in hopes for a kind of karmic exchange in which his children would be well taken care of in his absence.

Brown liked to be the first person to sign up for new programs, including Shakespeare in Prison at Solano State Prison in 2014. That way, he thought, others would be more encouraged to follow suit seeing that someone else had already committed.

He found the first session to be disarming, entertaining, and enjoyable. Months of rehearsals came and went. As the debut neared, Brown got nervous. “As we got closer, when the costumes came, I was even more nervous. I just wanted to get it over with,” he says. Brown expected nothing but heckles from the hardened crowd.

“But there was no heckling. Instead, it was something like admiration. They, even the guards, saw us in a different way than they had seen us all those years,” Brown recalls. “It went off without a hitch and it was collective jubilation. It made a lot of people feel differently about acting in a really heavy way.”

Photo Credit: Marin Shakespeare Company

Brown’s incarceration ended the following year, but his passion for acting did not.

Soon after he was out, Lesley Currier, Marin Shakespeare Company’s managing director who worked with Brown inside Solano, picked him up from the halfway house where he was staying and brought him to a performance of Henry IV, starring Danny Glover—an actor Brown grew up watching on TV. “He was the first Black superhero on television. I have a lot of respect for him,” Brown recalls of that evening in 2015.

Brown met Glover after the show. He still recalls the advice Glover gave him for the performances he’s continued acting in since. “What are your connectors?” Glover asked Brown about his upcoming portrayal of Othello, his first post-prison performance. “Was he not a prisoner? A slave? Was he not betrayed? Your task is to share the truth of those things.”

Despite feeling out of his depth with professional actors, Brown stuck with the role that ultimately earned him a Best Lead Actor award from the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle in 2016. Looking back on his award-winning performance, Brown says that Shakespeare in Prison and Glover “gave me everything I did on that stage.”

Photo Credit: Marin Shakespeare Company

The post Shakespeare Saw These Actors Through Prison and Onto Center Stage appeared first on Arts Midwest.

NEA Big Read

An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports community reading programs designed around a single NEA Big Read book. The goal of this program is to inspire meaningful conversations, celebrate local creativity, elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and build stronger connections in each community.

Grants range from $5,000 to $20,000 each, and the Intent to Apply is due on January 17, 2024 (extended from January 10).

Learn More about NEA Big Read

Book Event

Cincinatti, OH

NEA Big Read

Photo Credit: Mikki Schaffner

NEA Big Read At-A-Glance

• What: The NEA Big Read is a reading program that brings communities together around the central theme, “Where We Live,” using one of 50 available NEA Big Read Books as inspiration.
• When: The mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 10, with final applications due January 24, 2024 , and funded projects must occur between September 2024 and June 2025.
• Where: Nonprofit organizations and public libraries located across the United States and the Native nations that share this geography can apply.
• Who: Arts organizations, universities, libraries, service organizations, museums, school districts, and tribal governments are all encouraged to apply.

New this year, community programming during this cycle will focus on the theme “Where We Live.” Applicants will host books discussions, writing workshops, and creative activities that celebrate unique aspects of their community, using as inspiration one of 50 available NEA Big Read books. These 50 titles are drawn from the NEA Big Read archive and showcase a wide range of genres, perspectives, and geographic regions.

Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Through grants to theater companies, this program supports high-quality productions and educational activities to young audiences throughout the United States. Applicants can choose from two paths: Schools or Juvenile Justice.

Grants range from $15,000 to $25,000 each, and the Intent to Apply is due January 25, 2024.

Learn More about Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare and Social Justice Workshop

Los Gatos, CA

Shakespeare in American Communities

Photo Credit: West Cliff Creative

Shakespeare in American Communities At-A-Glance

• What: Shakespeare in American Communities is a project-based, matching grant that helps theater companies and organizations bring Shakespeare and works inspired by Shakespeare to students.
• When: The mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 25, with final applications due February 8, 2024, and funded projects must occur between August 2024 – July 2025.
• Where: Nonprofit theater companies and organizations located across the United States and the Native nations that share this geography can apply.
• Who: The schools program is available to theater companies producing a play that is a work written or inspired by Shakespeare, an adaption of Shakespeare’s text, or a production that incorporates scenes, monologues, and/or sonnets by Shakespeare, with related educational activities in partnership with schools. The Juvenile Justice program is available to nonprofit organizations providing Shakespeare educational activities in partnership with the Juvenile Justice System.

New this year, grantees applying to the schools path do not need to produce Shakespeare plays. They now have the option to conduct performances and educational activities that use the works of William Shakespeare as an inspiration. Additionally, grantees may conduct performances and educational activities outside of schools, as long as they still reach middle/high school age participants.

The post Now Accepting Applications: 2024-25 NEA Big Read and Shakespeare in American Communities appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Celebrating its 20th year in 2023, Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The program supports high-quality productions and educational activities exploring the work of William Shakespeare in middle schools, high schools, and juvenile justice facilities throughout the United States.

Theater companies are able to choose to either perform a play by Shakespeare or select an adaptation or new play that incorporates Shakespeare’s scenes or monologues. Paired with these performances, each company will host educational activities with students to creatively explore Shakespeare’s work and its context. These performances and educational events will take place between August 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024.

For the first time this year, applicants could choose a range of grant awards ($15k-$25k) to help smaller organizations meet the required match more easily. An additional Juvenile Justice grant was awarded this year, and 11 new grantees were awarded Schools grants.  

“We’re delighted to share the latest group of Shakespeare in American Communities grantees, and can’t wait to see the wide variety of projects they’ll be undertaking this year,” says Joshua Feist, Grants Officer at Arts Midwest . “We’re inspired by grantees taking novel approaches to Shakespeare’s work, from bilingual adaptations to hip hop writing. These innovative interpretations offer young people opportunities to see their own experiences and identities mirrored within the text.”

“Shakespeare in American Communities provides an important opportunity for youth who might not otherwise be exposed to a professional production to experience the magic of live theater,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. “And this program goes even further, engaging youth in activities that explore how a work written more than 400 years ago can still resonate today, helping them to understand the world around them and the impact of the arts.”

One hundred and twenty theater companies and organizations across the United States have taken part in Shakespeare in American Communities since the program’s inception in 2003. To date, the program has supported more than 16,000 performances and 60,000 educational activities at more than 12,000 schools and juvenile justice facilities in 4,700 communities in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Examples of projects supported:

Shakespeare in American Communities: Juvenile Justice

Grants to support theater education programs in juvenile justice facilities that illuminate the works of Shakespeare and addresses his work in modern context.

Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

Grants to support performances of Shakespeare and related educational activities for students from five or more schools.

The post Announcing the 2023-24 Shakespeare in American Communities Grantees appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Celebrating its 20th year in 2023, Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The program supports high-quality productions and educational activities exploring the work of William Shakespeare in middle schools, high schools, and juvenile justice facilities throughout the United States.

For the first time this year, theater companies were able to choose to either perform a play by Shakespeare or select an adaptation or new play that incorporates Shakespeare’s scenes or monologues. Paired with these performances, each company will host educational activities with students to creatively explore Shakespeare’s work and its context. These performances and educational events will take place between August 1, 2022 and July 31, 2023.

“We are thrilled to announce the latest Shakespeare in American Communities grantees and are excited to see the work that they will be doing over the course of the next year,” says Ellen DeYoung, Grant Manager at Arts Midwest. “All across America, young people will be exploring Shakespeare’s work in a modern context and connecting with themes, stories, and characters that are relevant to today.”

“Shakespeare in American Communities provides an important opportunity for students to learn how participation in the arts can help them express themselves and make sense of the world,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D., chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. “I hope this experience will lead them to a lifetime of involvement in the arts.”

One hundred and twenty theater companies and organizations across the United States have taken part in Shakespeare in American Communities since the program’s inception in 2003. To date, the program has supported more than 14,500 performances and 54,000 educational activities at more than 11,500 schools and juvenile justice facilities in 4,700 communities in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Photo Credit: Lee A. Butz

Photo Credit: California Shakespeare Theater

Photo Credit: Esme Wu

Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow

Photo Credit: Montana Shakespeare in the Parks

Examples of projects supported:

Explore all of the 2022-2023 Grantees

Below are the theater companies selected to participate in the Shakespeare in American Communities program for 2022- 2023.

Shakespeare in American Communities: Juvenile Justice

Grants to support theater education programs in juvenile justice facilities that illuminate the works of Shakespeare and addresses his work in modern context.

Shakespeare in American Communities: Schools

Grants to support performances of Shakespeare and related educational activities for students from five or more schools.

Shakespeare in American Communities is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

The post Announcing the 2022-23 Shakespeare in American Communities Grantees appeared first on Arts Midwest.