San Francisco Shakespeare Festival
The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival began in 1983 with a production of The Tempest in Golden Gate Park. The company’s goal is to make the words and themes of Shakespeare accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, financial status, or level of education. SF Shakes programs include: Free Shakespeare in the Park, presented every year from July to September in San Francisco, Pleasanton, Cupertino, and Redwood City; Shakespeare On Tour, which annually brings a live, hour-long Shakespeare performance to schools, libraries and community centers statewide; Bay Area Shakespeare Camps for students aged 4 to 18 (prior experience welcome but not required) and Advance Shakespeare Workshops for those with prior experience in performance; and Midnight Shakespeare, a program that offers at-risk youth the opportunity to learn communication and performance skills, discipline, and team work through staging a Shakespeare play.
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival Information
- Venues: Multiple venues throughout the San Francisco area: the Presidio’s Main Post Parade Ground Lawn; Cupertino’s Memorial Park Ampitheater; Pleasanton’s Amador Valley Community Park; and the grounds of Redwood City’s Sequoia High School
- Public Transportation: Varies by venue
- Handicapped Accessibility: All venues accessible
- Performances/Programs: SF Shakespeare Festival offers free Shakespeare productions in numerous parks; free park performances generally take place on weekends from June to September. Shakespeare on Tour travels the state and performs at schools, libraries and community centers from October to April each year.
