Biz Brief: Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is a longtime staple throughout Tahoe communities. With the mission of this establishment being to provide the highest quality of theater and cultural production for the residents of the greater Tahoe area, it’s safe to say that the Shakespeare Festival holds itself as a beloved entity in the Tahoe regional area.

The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival had a small beginning in the year 1972 near the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. During the first two years of the festival, Shakespeare was performed consistently until the theater production made the venue unsuitable. Several years later, and the North Tahoe Fine Arts Council, also known as NTFAC, moved the festival to a new location in Tahoe City. With the festival moving to a more established community, word about the Shakespeare Festival quickly grew; thus, it grew over the years into the famous Shakespeare Festival Tahoe communities know today.

Several years later, and the NTFAC alongside Nevada State Parks agreed to hold Shakespeare Festival performances at Sand Harbor as it has the functionality to hold these events. Since the move to Sand Harbor in the late 1970’s, the festival has been held there consistently each summer. Now, the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival collaborates with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and the Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Ohio. This ongoing collaboration is designed to maximize return on organizational investments, increase production efficiencies, create long-term work opportunities for artists, and share best practices. Led by a unified management team and supported by a single production staff, the three separate 501c3 regional theaters continue to keep remarkable artistic and economic benefits and have seen the audience grow consistently each year.

Visit the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.