Shakespeare in the Streets is a grassroots theatrical experience that invites St. Louis neighborhoods to tell their stories. A creative team imbeds itself within a neighborhood for up to a year getting to know the kids, businesses, churches, schools, and residents. Through story-circles and interviews, the creative team identifies themes that run through the community. Next the creative team leads the neighborhood in developing an original play based on one of Shakespeare’s works—a play with themes that reflect the community’s character. The cast is composed of residents along side professional actors.
Residents of the year’s selected neighborhood contribute to all aspects of the production, from story development to live performance. The result is a weekend-long celebration of their collective effort, with three live, outdoor performances. Free and open to the public, these performances unite the neighborhood and introduce it as a creative force to the greater St. Louis area.
Shakespeare in the Streets is a program of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis and has been featured in American Theatre Magazine. Neighborhoods performed in to date: Cherokee Street/Benton Park (2012), The Grove/Forest Park Southeast (2013), Clayton (2014), Old North St. Louis (2015), and Maplewood (2016).
This documentary chronicles the process of Shakespeare in the Streets in two communities: Old North St. Louis (2015) and Maplewood (2016).
This documentary tracks the creative team's experience in Old North St. Louis producing Shakespeare in the Streets 2015.