Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival
Premiering summer 2023
Pablo Center at the Confluence introduces the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival, producing its inaugural season during the summer of 2023.
The festival will feature an exquisite blend of artistic and educational endeavors, including a mainstage production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a new works series, a young performers troupe, various workshop classes open to the public, and more.
Please continue to check back for more information as the planning for our premiere season unfolds!
PRODUCTIONS EDUCATION NEW WORKS OPPORTUNITIES
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Become a founding supporter by donating to the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival. Your support helps create once-in-a-lifetime productions, support community-based talent, student workshops, and so much more.
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Core Values
Engagement
Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival provides accessible opportunities for inclusive engagement. This includes educational opportunities with artists, opportunities for youth and non-professional artists, community partnerships, and other innovative initiatives.
Growth
Educational experiences and mentorship opportunities for young (college, high school, younger) performers and technicians should be considered for how they might create opportunities for positive creative growth in the area and region.
Creativity
Our selection and production of plays seek to provide the community with an example of Shakespeare’s legacy within theatrical performance but are also mindful of interpretation, cultural context, and the impact of inclusive casting, innovative interpretation and production, and collaboration in creating impactful experiences with live performance.
Community
We strive to create relationships among art, artists, and audiences. Decisions on programming reflect on the challenge of creating and re-envisioning dramatic works, including other schools and movements, towards strengthening the audience-venue relationship, as well as the venue-community responsibility.
MISSION OF WISCONSIN SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
The Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival believes in the power of words and the stories they tell. Our exuberant celebration of brilliant theatre seeks to ignite a spark to empower and inspire artists, as well as enlighten and connect audiences and the community.
WHY WILLIAM?
Shakespeare’s writings explored the human condition in a manner that was both relevant in his day, and insightful for future audiences, producers, artists, and patrons to consider. His facility with language and playfulness with double meaning imbue his plays with a deep cultural value to be explored. As such, our festival is not solely a recreation of Shakespeare’s most-known works. We wish to focus on the essence of his artwork, questioning norms regarding love, power, and possibility, without compromising a high-quality production environment.
At the end of the day, William Shakespeare gave us stories. Stories to mine, explore, interpret, and evaluate. We aim to provide summer programming for all of Eau Claire–and the region–so that we might come together in an enriching celebration.
Partnership & Sponsorships
The Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival wouldn’t be possible without the help from our community of sponsors, partnerships, and donors.
Sponsors
