Idaho Shakespeare Festival

What Idaho Shakespeare Festival does

Idaho Shakespeare Festival is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) regional theater founded in 1977 in Boise, Idaho, producing a six-show annual outdoor season at the Amphitheater & Reserve on the Boise River. The festival stages Shakespearean works, contemporary plays, and musicals alongside pre-show mini-concerts and on-site food and beverage service (Shakespeare's Marketplace), with single tickets ranging from $26 to $600 and subscription packages from $60 (student) to $1,800 (Bard-in-a-Box premium). Its core technology consists of theatrical production infrastructure (lighting, sound, scenic and costume shops), an assistive listening system, and PurpleAir air-quality monitoring for outdoor safety; ticketing runs on a shared arts management database with consortium partner Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

The festival generates revenue through a diversified mix of ticket sales (subscriptions and single tickets), donations and sustaining memberships, corporate sponsorships, school touring fees (Shakespearience program at $450-$1,000 per performance plus $175 workshops), summer camps ($125-$535 per session), and group sales. Education is a core vertical: the Shakespearience program tours K-12 schools across seven western states, and the School of Theater, Apprentice Program, and summer camps serve youth ages 3-18. Customer segments include individual theater patrons, K-12 schools, youth/families, corporate sponsors, and nonprofit ticket-donation recipients, distributed across direct-to-consumer box office and online ticketing.

Since 2002, ISF has operated a strategic producing alliance with Great Lakes Theater (Cleveland) and, since 2010, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (Incline Village, Nevada), forming a tri-city consortium that has shared 50 jointly-created productions under unified management and shared production staff. In 2024, Sara Bruner succeeded Charles Fee as Producing Artistic Director across all three theaters, and in May 2026 the consortium launched a five-year partnership with Play On Shakespeare to stage modern verse translations, coinciding with ISF's 50th anniversary season.

Name

Idaho Shakespeare Festival

Legal name

Idaho Shakespeare Festival

Website

https://idahoshakespeare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Idaho Shakespeare Festival is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) outdoor theater founded in 1977 in Boise, Idaho, producing an annual Shakespeare and contemporary play season and operating education programs (school tours, summer camps, apprentice program) across seven western states via a tri-city consortium with Great Lakes Theater and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Theater / Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC), Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG), Performing Arts Camps (Theater, Musical Theater, Dance) (EDAMALAI), Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Professional theater productions
• Outdoor amphitheater performances
• Shakespeare festival productions
• Theater education programs
• School touring performances

Headquarters

HQ city

Boise

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales - Subscriptions: Season subscription packages offering 3-5 show combinations at discounted rates compared to single ticket pricing. Savings up to $1,440 for premium Bard-in-a-Box packages. Includes flexible options like The Flex plan allowing multiple performances of the same play.
2. Ticket Sales - Single Tickets: Single ticket sales for individual performances at varying price points based on seating section (Terrace, Chairs, Hillside, Boxes) and performance type (Weekend, Weekday, Preview, Musical). Prices range from $26-$600 depending on section and timing.
3. Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible donations accepted, with options for single gifts or sustaining membership. Donated tickets may be requested for nonprofit organizations.
4. Shakespeare's Marketplace (Food & Beverage): On-site café offering appetizers, drinks, dinners, and desserts. Proceeds from Shakespeare's Marketplace benefit the Festival. Opens every performance evening at 5:30 PM through intermission.
5. Sponsorship and Partnership: Corporate sponsorships including Season Sponsors, Season Partners, Season Media Partners, and Sponsors & Community Partners. Also includes advertising opportunities in season program.
6. Membership Programs: Sustaining member and single gift member programs providing ticket purchasing priority and benefits.
7. Group Sales: Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more, with flexible seating options and personalized welcome. Group dining options also available.
8. Summer Camp Programs: Educational camps including Camp Shakespeare, Camp Broadway, Camp Musical, Stagecraft, and others with fees ranging from $125-$535 per session.
9. Educational Tours (Shakespearience): School touring performances with rates of $450-$550 for single or double performances plus $175 for workshops, targeting educational institutions within and outside the 90-mile Boise radius.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Idaho Shakespeare Festival produces and presents a summer season of professional theatrical productions (Shakespeare, contemporary plays, and musicals) at its outdoor amphitheater along the Boise River. It also runs a year-round theater education operation including school touring productions, summer camps, classes, and an apprentice program for youth. Ticket revenue, education fees, donations, sponsorships, and on-site food and beverage sales support the nonprofit operation.

Product overview

Idaho Shakespeare Festival operates as a regional theater presenting professional productions at its outdoor amphitheater in Boise, Idaho. The company's product portfolio centers on live theatrical performances featuring Shakespearean works, contemporary plays, and musical productions, supplemented by educational outreach programs including the Shakespearience touring program for schools, Idaho Theater for Youth productions, and various Summer Camps. Additional offerings include the Mini-Concert Series pre-show entertainment, Shakespeare's Marketplace food service, membership/subscription packages, single tickets, and accessibility services through the Access Program. The Festival's 2026 season marks its 50th anniversary.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shakespearience: Educational touring program that brings Shakespeare performances to middle and high schools across the western United States.
• Fool Squad's Greenshow

Products and services

• Main Stage Productions
• Shakespearience Educational Touring Program
• Summer Theater Camps
• School of Theater
• Apprentice Program
• Idaho Theater for Youth
• Mini-Concert Series
• Shakespeare's Marketplace
• Season Subscriptions
• Single Tickets
• Access Program

Quantifiable outcome

• One of 40 professional theater companies selected for Shakespeare in American Communities (NEA)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Play On ShakespeareflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026Landmark five-year partnership announced May 14, 2026 between Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and Play On Shakespeare. Includes modern verse translations of Shakespeare plays performed in partnership, such as The Winter's Tale and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Lake Tahoe Shakespeare FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (Incline Village, Nevada) joined the strategic alliance in 2010, further contributing to the momentum of the producing prototype's success. The tri-city consortium shares productions across three independent 501c3 regional theaters with unified management.
• Great Lakes TheatercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Strategic producing alliance conceived in 2002 between Idaho Shakespeare Festival (Boise, Idaho) and Great Lakes Theater (Cleveland, Ohio). The partnership maximizes return on organizational investments, increases production efficiencies, creates long-term work opportunities for artists, and shares best practices. Led by unified management team and shared production staff.
• National Endowment for the Arts / Arts MidwestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISF is one of 40 professional theater companies selected for Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. This program enables ISF to perform Shakespeare for middle and high schools with related educational activities.
• Wassmuth Center for Human RightsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Wassmuth Center for Human Rights to offer Camp Shine Your Light, a full-day camp combining musical theater with human rights education for ages 6-9.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Boise Contemporary Theater: Local Boise-area professional theater producing contemporary works. Overlaps with ISF's regional audience development and education programming in the same Treasure Valley market, though with different repertoire focus.

Direct peers

• Great Lakes Theater: Cleveland-based LORT theater and ISF's producing partner in the tri-city consortium since 2002. Shares productions, staff, and unified Producing Artistic Director, making it the most operationally comparable peer.
• American Players Theatre: Spring Green, WI outdoor classical theater producing Shakespeare and other works. Closely matches ISF's outdoor repertory format and Midwest/Mountain-West regional audience development approach.
• Utah Shakespeare Festival: Cedar City, UT Tony Award-winning professional Shakespeare festival with repertory seasons, education programs, and outdoor/indoor venues. Highly comparable repertory model and regional theater scale.
• Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival: Incline Village, NV outdoor Shakespeare festival that joined the ISF/Great Lakes consortium in 2010. Most directly comparable in venue type (outdoor summer amphitheater), repertoire, and shared staff/management model.

Broad incumbents

• Oregon Shakespeare Festival: One of the largest and oldest professional Shakespeare festivals in the U.S., based in Ashland, OR. Direct functional peer for repertory Shakespeare and classical theater producing, with a much larger operating scale but analogous season subscription and education programming model.
• Guthrie Theater: Minneapolis-based LORT theater with extensive education and community programs. Relevant comparable for ISF's Producing Artistic Director Sara Bruner and production staff who came from Guthrie; useful benchmark for scaling education programming.
• Berkeley Repertory Theatre: LORT theater in Berkeley, CA with subscription seasons, education programs, and touring initiatives. Comparable as a Tony-recognized regional theater with mixed classical/contemporary programming and a robust education/community engagement arm.
• Shakespeare Theatre Company: Washington, D.C.-based professional Shakespeare theater with broader programming and national profile. Comparable in repertoire focus on Shakespeare and classical works, with a much larger operating budget and venue footprint.

Others

• Play On Shakespeare: Non-profit organization commissioning modern verse translations of Shakespeare plays. ISF's 2026 five-year strategic partner providing translated works for consortium productions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCx-b3LEzDO_XcT3NEOUQO3Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/IdahoShakespeareFestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/idahoshakespeare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/idaho-shakespeare-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 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 Idaho Shakespeare Festival