700,000+ Theatergoers from 42 States, 11 Countries Have Enjoyed Shakespeare in the Park
Heart of America Shakespeare Festival is a non-profit professional theatre company dedicated to making the works of Shakespeare and Shakespeare-inspired works accessible to the Kansas City community. Each summer, the Festival produces a high-quality professional production offered to the public free of charge. The Festival also offers year-round and in-school workshops and classes, as well as hosts a number of Shakespeare summer camps in the greater Kansas City area.
The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival was founded in 1991 by Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Marilyn Strauss. The Festival launched its first official season in 1993 in Southmoreland Park. Since then, more than 700,000 theater goers from 42 states and 11 countries have enjoyed the Festival’s professional productions. Every summer for the past twenty-five years, HASF has constructed a stage and theatre space in Southmoreland Park where thousands of visitors come to see FREE professional Shakespeare productions. Families and friends gather under the trees to enjoy a picnic supper and are entertained by the Team Shakespeare’s parody, enriched by Show Talk, and have an enjoyable evening of conversation and community with friends and family before the play begins.
