To support or to not support the arts, there is no question.
Kentucky Shakespeare is a non-profit professional theater company based in Louisville. They put on the free-admission Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park every summer.
Amy Attaway is the associate artistic director of Kentucky Shakespeare. Kentucky Shakespeare makes Shakespeare and theater accessible. They are an integral part of the Louisville community, which is made possible by the support of others.
Attaway has been with Kentucky Shakespeare for 10 years. Previously, she worked at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and started her own theater company, Theatre 502. In the fall of 2013, Matt Wallace took over as producing artistic director at Kentucky Shakespeare and reached out to Attaway, who was freelance directing at the time, and offered her a position as a guest director for the summer of 2024. She returned as a director for several summers before officially being hired as an assistant artistic director. After Wallace took over, the company was looking to start over. “It was all about rebuilding and sort of reintroducing ourselves to the city, and re-engaging a lot of local artists,” Attaway said.
Like many theater companies, Kentucky Shakespeare is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. While Kentucky Shakespeare had an easier time bouncing back compared to others due to being an outdoor theater and small staff, post-pandemic attendance has remained a concern. “People still aren’t coming to the theater as much as they used to,” Attaway said.
However, audience attendance is finally beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels. Kentucky Shakespeare saw about 27,000 people throughout the summer. All three productions, “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Comedy of Errors” and “Tempest” had positive reactions from the large audience. “We hit a new audience number record for post-COVID years,” Attaway said.
Beyond the annual Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, a major part of what the company does involves education. During the school year, Kentucky Shakespeare provides a variety of touring performances and workshops to not just schools, but also libraries and community centers. In addition to Shakespeare, they have two other programs; one centered on Kentucky history and another centered on American history. These programs introduce Shakespeare and history to students in an engaging way. It is many students’ first experience with live theater. “We’re the largest in-school touring arts provider in the whole state,” Attaway said.
Kentucky Shakespeare’s mission is to “enrich communities through accessible, inclusive, professional theater experiences that educate, inspire, and entertain diverse audiences.” Accessibility is key throughout the entire experience. Kentucky Shakespeare reaches out to every corner of Louisville. There are no expectations of a fancy theater and fancy dresses; erasing perceived ideas of what a theater-goer is. “Come as you are, bring your dog, bring your kids,” Attaway said.
Because of support from the community, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival can remain free. “We do a ton of fundraising throughout the year, we fundraise from individuals, we fundraise from grants,” Attaway said. Kentucky Shakespeare is made possible by support from audience members, the city and donations on both the local and national levels. “Everybody is pitching in a little bit,” Attaway said.
Non-profit art organizations like Kentucky Shakespeare are essential to the culture of the cities they occupy. Donate a couple of dollars if possible and know non-profits are usually open to volunteers. Go see everything from a classic take on “Romeo and Juliet” to one that utilizes orchestral versions of pop songs–like Kentucky Shakespeare’s did this past summer. “We present this for free all summer, 11 weeks of free professional arts, everybody’s welcome,” Attaway said.
