San Francisco Shakespeare Festival Announces 2023 Season

Having just celebrated their 40th anniversary season in 2022, the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival looks forward to 2023 with a robust lineup of community programs and special events throughout the Bay Area.

Shakespeare on Tour resumes for the first time having been on hiatus due to the pandemic. A 5-actor troupe will travel with set, costumes, and props throughout the state performing an hour-long production of Shakespeare's classic comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. The majority of these performances take place at schools, but several shows are scheduled at libraries and community centers where all are welcome to attend, at no charge.

Public performances of Shakespeare on Tour's

A Midsummer Night's Dream:

• March 1 - 6:30 pm at Millbrae Library, 1 Library Ave, Millbrae
• March 2 - 7:00 pm at Reedley College, Forum Hall, 995 N Reed Ave, Reedley
• March 25 - 2:00 pm at San Francisco Public Library-Main Branch, 100 Larkin St, San Francisco
• April 12 - 3:00 pm at Foster City Library, 1000 E Hillsdale Blvd, Foster City
• April 22 - 1:00 pm at San Carlos Library, 610 Elm St, San Carlos
• May 6 - 1:00 pm at Belmont Library, 110 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont

Querida Sor Juana/ Dear Sor Juana also returns after pandemic disruption. Conceived as a dramatic reading of the letters of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1696) for the Bay Area Women's Theatre Festival, it was to be staged in March 2020 at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, in the heart of San Francisco's Latinx community. Like the phoenix, it rises again as Querida Sor Juana: The Death of the Phoenix of México. A public workshop will take place in May 2023, date and location TBA. Created by local Latinx theater artist Carolina Morones, Querida Sor Juana is a fan letter to the 17th century poet nun of Mexico for her feminist contributions to the question of women's rights and education.

The following educational and community engagement programs are also planned:

• Shakespeare Residencies and Workshops continue to help educators energize their classrooms. Trained Teaching Artists facilitate the artistic and personal growth of students by transforming the group into a fun, engaging, and interactive ensemble. In 2023, SF Shakes is partnering with San Francisco's Lick-Wilmerding High School, Daly City's Westmoor High School, Pleasanton's Amador Valley High School, San Mateo's Odyssey School, San Jose's Lynbrook High School, and San Rafael's Star Academy.
• With Shakespeare's Heartbeat, students with special needs utilize the iambic pentameter (heartbeat rhythm) of Shakespeare's words and the physicality of his characters to play interactive games to improve social skills and help with identifying and expressing emotions. Partnerships continue in 2023 with San Francisco's Francisco Middle School and Everett Middle School, as well as West Valley College's College of Adaptive Arts in Saratoga.
• Shakespeare for All Neighbors (S4AN) is a pilot storytelling workshop series taking place in San Francisco's Tenderloin. This 6-week program started in December, and is engaging neighbors experiencing homelessness with group exercises in creative thinking, acting, improv, and storytelling in partnership with the Healing Well.
• Enrollment for Bay Area Shakespeare Camps at McLaren Park has opened. This session, for ages 7-13, will meet weekdays July 10-21 at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, the same venue of Free Shakespeare in the Park. Additional Bay Area locations and dates will be announced soon. Shakespeare Camps engage participants with their own peers while learning about the world of performance and Shakespeare in a creative and supportive environment.

Free Shakespeare in the Park returns this summer. All are invited to attend at no charge. Shows will take place in Cupertino's Memorial Park, July 22-August 6 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 6:00 pm; Redwood City's Red Morton Park, August 12-27 on Saturdays and Sundays at 6:00 pm; and San Francisco's McLaren Park, September 2-10, on Saturdays, Sundays, and Labor Day Monday at 2:00 pm. Show title, cast members, creative team, and other exciting announcements are coming soon.