The Community Tour will return in Fall 2023 with a brand new production, bringing high quality Shakespeare performances to the full spectrum of humanity in non-traditional locations such as homeless shelters, prisons, and community centers.
ABOUT THE DELAWARE SHAKESPEARE COMMUNITY TOUR
Delaware Shakespeare launched its new Community Tour in Fall 2016 with Pericles, Prince of Tyre and followed that up in Fall 2017 with As You Like It. The productions traveled throughout the state bringing thrilling, professional Shakespeare to audiences who may not have easy access to professional arts experiences..
Community Tour productions play in non-theatrical settings such as multipurpose rooms, cafeterias, and gymnasiums. The production values are scaled for those spaces, with live music, minimal sets, and whatever lighting is available. The productions are performed with a cast of eight actors and a musician.
WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT THE 2016 COMMUNITY TOUR BELOW
The Community Tour, partially supported though a $95,000 challenge grant from the Longwood Foundation, is the most significant new undertaking since Delaware Shakespeare’s founding. It is based on the innovative performance model of Ten Thousand Things, a Minneapolis theater company that has been bringing professional theatre, including Shakespeare, to people with little access to the wealth of the arts for more than 20 years. Delaware Shakespeare is proud to be part of the TEN THOUSAND THEATERS MOVEMENT, a recent group of theatres, including three of the most prestigious Shakespeare companies in the United States, that are adapting the model for their own communities.
