The Nashville Shakespeare Festival

What The Nashville Shakespeare Festival does

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional theatre organization founded in 1988 and based in Nashville, Tennessee. The festival's flagship offering is Shakespeare in the Park, a free outdoor summer production series held at Centennial Park that has run for over 35 years and drawn up to 15,000 attendees annually on a pay-what-you-will model. Beyond the park series, the organization operates an indoor winter production season at Belmont University's Troutt Theater, co-productions with Nashville Repertory Theatre (including the 2025 FAT HAM regional premiere), and Lipscomb University, plus the Shakespeare Education Experience (SEE Tour) bringing abridged productions and workshops to schools across Middle Tennessee. Educational programming extends to a Summer Conservatory (25+ years of pre-professional training for emerging artists ages 18+), the NSF Youth Company, summer camps, and a newly launched Online Productions streaming platform for classrooms.

The business model is a hybrid nonprofit funding structure with four primary revenue streams: (1) individual donations across seven giving tiers ranging from $50 (Mechanicals) to $5,000+ (Visionaries' Circle) plus a monthly Northern Stars giving program, (2) corporate sponsorships with tiers from $2,500 (Bronze) to $10,000 (Presenting), anchored by Ingram Charities and HCA Healthcare, (3) institutional grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, and Metro Arts, and (4) limited ticket revenue from reserved seating, Royal Packages, and the Midsummer Night fundraising cocktail party at $250/person. The festival serves a distributed community base with no single customer dependency, supported by 22,000+ social media followers, 14,000+ email subscribers, and 80,000+ annual website visitors. Operating leadership includes Artistic Director Jason Spelbring (appointed June 2024), Executive Director Isabel Tipton-Krispin, and approximately eight full-time staff.

Name

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival

Legal name

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival

Website

https://nashvilleshakes.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1988 that produces free Shakespeare in the Park performances, indoor productions, school touring, and pre-professional training for the Mid-South community, serving approximately 15,000 attendees annually across multiple programs funded by donations, grants, and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Live Theatre

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN), Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC), Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Live theatrical productions
• Outdoor shakespeare performances
• Arts education programs
• Community theater festivals
• Professional theatre training

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Major revenue stream including individual donors at various levels ($50-$10,000+), monthly giving program (Northern Stars), and special events like Midsummer Night fundraising cocktail party
2. Ticket Sales: Revenue from reserved seating, Royal Packages, and indoor performances. Shakespeare in the Park is free (pay-what-you-will model)
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Sponsorship opportunities across multiple programs including Shakespeare in the Park, SEE Tour, Midsummer Night, Indoor Productions, and Pop-Up Shakespeare
4. Grants: Institutional funding from government arts agencies and private foundations including National Endowment for the Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, and Metro Arts

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival produces and presents professional live theatrical performances of Shakespeare's works, anchored by its free Shakespeare in the Park summer series in Centennial Park. The organization also delivers indoor winter productions, touring educational programs for K-12 schools, pre-professional training through the Summer Conservatory, online filmed productions, and community reading events, serving the Mid-South community with accessible, pay-what-you-will theatre experiences.

Product overview

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival offers a multi-faceted portfolio of theatrical and educational programs. Its core offerings include Shakespeare in the Park (free outdoor summer productions), Indoor Productions (winter season shows and university collaborations), and Online Productions (streamed film adaptations). Educational programs include the Shakespeare Education Experience Tour (SEE Tour), Summer Conservatory (pre-professional training), Youth Company, and Pop-Up Shakespeare readings. The festival also operates a fundraising events program including Midsummer Night and The Northern Stars monthly giving circle, plus a music album featuring original songs from productions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shakespeare in the Park Free outdoor summer theater productions held annually in Centennial Park, offering professional theatrical performances of Shakespeare's plays with pay-what-you-will admission for over 35 years. The flagship offering of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, running 5+ weeks with Thursday-Sunday night shows.
• Online Productions Professional filmed adaptations of Shakespeare's works available to stream for free with registration, designed for classrooms and community use, with optional paid workshops available for Title I schools at no cost.
• Summer Conservatory Immersive pre-professional training program for early-career theatre artists ages 18+, offering intensive Shakespeare training, a showcase performance, and practical professional experience during Shakespeare in the Park productions. Free for those participating in Shakespeare in the Park productions; $800 for training only.
• Shakespeare Education Experience (SEE) Tour Touring abridged Shakespeare productions and workshops to schools and community centers across Middle Tennessee, with free performances and workshops provided to Title I schools across the region.
• Indoor Productions Winter Shakespeare productions at Belmont University's Troutt Theater and co-productions with Nashville Repertory Theatre and other professional theatres, including regional premieres like FAT HAM.
• Music of Nashville Shakespeare Festival (Album)
• NSF Youth Company and Summer Camps
• Past Repertory Archive

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 348,000 Middle Tennesseans have attended performances since 1988
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Belmont UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWinter Shakespeare productions staged at Belmont University's Troutt Theater. The university serves as a key venue partner for indoor productions and educational programming, including student matinees and daytime school performances.
• Lipscomb UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner for co-produced theatre productions. Collaboration on educational programming and student engagement opportunities.
• Nashville Repertory TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for professional theatre, including recent FAT HAM regional premiere and other indoor productions at TPAC's Johnson Theatre.
• Nashville Public LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Shakespeare Allowed monthly reading series, now in its 13th year. Free community event held the first Saturday each month open to all.
• Room In The Inn - Hope UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for weekly Shakespeare classes at Room In The Inn's Hope University program, providing free books and reading glasses to participants.
• Nashville PBSsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationCollaboration for filmed productions including Macbeth as a Nashville PBS Artsbreak Special. Studio A at Nashville PBS serves as Summer Conservatory training location.
• Ingram CharitiescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor sponsor supporting accessible arts programming and Shakespeare in the Park performances.
• HCA Healthcare/Tri-Star HealthcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor for Midsummer Night and general festival support. Major healthcare partner investing in community arts access.
• Sherrard RoesecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerLaw firm sponsor providing support for festival programming and Midsummer Night event.
• GSRM LawsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerBronze sponsor for Midsummer Night fundraising event.
• Theater League of Kansas CitysecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerBronze sponsor for Midsummer Night; national theatre organization partnership.
• Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association membership providing forum for artistic and managerial leadership in Shakespearean productions.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Oregon Shakespeare Festival: One of the largest and oldest regional Shakespeare festivals in the U.S., based in Ashland, OR. Significantly larger in scale but directly comparable as a professional Shakespeare-producing institution with year-round programming and education outreach.

Direct peers

• Nashville Children's Theatre: Nashville-based professional theatre focused on young audiences and school programming. Overlaps with NSF's SEE Tour and K-12 educational mission and competes for the same education-grant and school-district relationships.
• Utah Shakespeare Festival: Tony Award-winning regional Shakespeare festival in Cedar City, UT, and former employer of NSF Artistic Director Jason Spelbring. Closely comparable in repertory breadth, education programming, and summer-festival operating model.
• Alabama Shakespeare Festival: Long-running regional Shakespeare festival in Montgomery, AL, producing a mix of Shakespeare and modern classics. Directly comparable mission, scale, and repertory model to NSF.
• Atlanta Shakespeare Company: Regional Shakespeare company producing Shakespeare and education programs across the Southeast. Comparable in mission and repertory focus, serving a similar Southern U.S. regional audience.
• Kentucky Shakespeare: Louisville-based regional Shakespeare festival, originally 'Commonwealth Theatre' and the oldest free Shakespeare-in-the-Park festival in the U.S. Closely comparable as a free outdoor Shakespeare organization with education programs in a mid-size Southern market.
• Tennessee Repertory Theatre: Nashville-area professional theatre company producing classic and contemporary work. Competes with NSF for local audiences, donors, and corporate sponsors in the same Middle Tennessee market.
• Nashville Repertory Theatre: Nashville's leading professional regional theatre and an active co-production partner with NSF (e.g., FAT HAM regional premiere). Operates in the same city, serves overlapping audiences, and competes for the same donor and corporate sponsor pool.

Regional players

• Houston Shakespeare Festival: University-affiliated (University of Houston) annual free Shakespeare festival with an education tour. Operates in a different geography but mirrors NSF's free outdoor Shakespeare + school-tour model.

Others

• OZ Arts Nashville: Nashville-based contemporary performing arts presenter. Not a direct Shakespeare competitor but competes with NSF for the same corporate sponsors, foundation grants, and high-net-worth Nashville donors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nashvilleshakes
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@nashvilleshakes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nashville-shakespeare-festival
• Facebookfacebook.com/nashvilleshakes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Nashville Shakespeare Festival