The Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) is held in Bloomington, Illinois, United States at Ewing Theatre and in Normal, Illinois, United States at the Center for Performing Arts Theatre at Illinois State University. The Festival began in 1978 and celebrated its 45th season in 2023. The Festival has traditionally presented three plays. Although all three may be Shakespeare plays, the Festival has also included different types of theater, such as Restoration comedy, Commedia dell'arte, and works by contemporary playwrights.
The Festival is produced by the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film at the College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University. Performances take place at Ewing Cultural Center in Ewing Theatre, a re-creation of the Globe Stage complete with open air amphitheater. The Festival markets itself as "theatre under the stars." Before many nightly performances, the Festival has presented free pre-show entertainment, including live jazz, abbreviated versions of the play to come, or other light or short performances. In 2008, the Festival began shows aimed towards younger audiences called Theatre for Young Audiences, which have traditionally been performed on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
The Festival runs from the later part of June through the middle of August.
Production history Unless otherwise noted, the plays are written by William Shakespeare.
1978 As You Like It Macbeth Twelfth Night 1979 Hamlet King Henry IV, Part 1 The Taming of the Shrew 1980 The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night's Dream Romeo and Juliet 1981 The Comedy of Errors Julius Caesar The Winter's Tale 1982 King Henry IV, Part 2 Love's Labour's Lost Othello 1983 Macbeth Much Ado About Nothing The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1984 Pericles The Merchant of Venice The Taming of the Shrew 1985 Cymbeline King Lear A Midsummer Night's Dream 1986 As You Like It Hamlet The Tempest 1987 Measure for Measure Romeo and Juliet Twelfth Night 1988 All's Well That Ends Well The Comedy of Errors Richard III 1989 Henry V The Merry Wives of Windsor She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith 1990 Julius Caesar Much Ado About Nothing The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1991 Antony and Cleopatra Othello The Taming of the Shrew 1992 Macbeth As You Like It The Winter's Tale 1993 Richard II Pericles A Midsummer Night's Dream 1994 Romeo and Juliet The Two Gentlemen of Verona Henry IV, Part 1 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, adaptated 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 Love's Labour's Lost Coriolanus Othello 2002 Merchant of Venice A Midsummer Night's Dream Romeo and Juliet 2003 As You Like It King Lear Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher 2004 Two Gentlemen of Verona Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand Hamlet 2005 Macbeth Twelfth Night Henry VIII 2006 Julius Caesar Pericles The Comedy of Errors 2007 Much Ado About Nothing Henry V Love's Labour's Lost 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 Festival canceled due to the pandemic 2021 Measure for Measure The Winter's Tale 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 A Midsummer Night's Dream The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde Hamlet 2026 Two Gentlemen of Verona Romeo and Juliet Our Town, by Thornton Wilder
Artistic Directors 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)
References
External links Illinois Shakespeare Festival homepage Illinois Shakespeare Festival History