Entertainment, food, family and friends converge under the stars on the scenic shore of Lake Tahoe each summer at Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (LTSF). The festival produces exceptional theater entertainment at Sand Harbor State Park for patrons of all ages. Founded modestly in 1972, the Festival it has grown today to become a signature cultural event in the United States attracting more than 30,000 attendees annually from across the country to the Tahoe region.
Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is a nonprofit organization established for the cultural benefit and enjoyment of locals and visitors in the Lake Tahoe region. The company strives to produce and present the finest cultural events at Lake Tahoe and educate future generations about the importance of incorporating theater, music and art into their everyday lives.
Each LTSF season, which runs July through August, is anchored by a pair of mainstage productions — a play by William Shakespeare and a musical. The productions run in a rotating repertory format (alternating every few nights) and feature a single company of professional actors — many of whom perform in both productions. In addition, the Shakespeare Festival presents a multi-event Showcase Series that features a diverse array of live music and entertainment events from a variety of genres — performed by partner arts organizations from across the region and beyond.
In addition to its mainstage and Showcase Series offerings, the Festival’s robust educational outreach initiatives connect an additional 7,000 young people to the classics each year through two free programs. The D.G. Menchetti Young Shakespeare Program features an interactive adaptation of a Shakespeare play for children performed during the summer at Sand Harbor State Park and at various locations throughout Northern Nevada. InterACT, a school residency program, explores Shakespeare and the classics with students during the academic year in classrooms throughout the region.
As a non-profit arts organization, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival relies on the community for support. Ticket sales cover only 64 percent of the cost of producing the company’s mainstage season and free education programs each year. To learn more about how to play a meaningful role in the Festival’s continued success as a donor, sponsor or volunteer, visit www.LakeTahoeShake speare.com.
Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival’s 2016 mainstage season is headlined by productions of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors and the pitch perfect jukebox musical comedy Forever Plaid — which will run July 8-August 21 at Sand Harbor State Park.
Complete information on the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, a performance calendar and tickets are available at www.LakeTahoe Shakespeare.com.