The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) is one of the largest Shakespeare festivals in the world. It attracts more than 300,000 annual visitors from all 50 states and over 60 countries, to its home in Montgomery, Alabama. William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... Montgomery is a city located in Montgomery County, Alabama. ... Alabama is a state located in the southern United States; the population of Alabama is 4,447,100 as of 2000. ...

ASF operates year-round, producing 12-14 world-class productions annually, typically including three works of William Shakespeare. The remaining plays sample various genres and playwrights, sometimes with an emphasis on Southern playwrights. ASF's Southern Writers Project nutures the creation of new plays that reflect Southern themes. The U.S. Southern states or the South, also known colloquially as Dixie, constitute a distinctive region covering a large portion of the United States, with its own unique heritage, historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ...

ASF had humble beginnings in 1972 as a summer stock theater project housed in the Anniston High School auditorium. Eventually, the Shakespeare Festival grew to garner critical acclaim, but lacked the financial support to keep it afloat. In December of 1985, ASF moved to Montgomery, as the result of Mr. And Mrs. Winton Blount's $21.5-million gift of a performing arts complex set in a 250 acre (1 km²) park, the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park. The Carolyn Blount Theatre houses two separate stages, the 750-seat Festival Stage and the 225 seat Octagon Theatre. Winton Malcolm Red Blount (February 1, 1921 - October 24, 2002) was the United States Postmaster General from 1969-1971. ...

ASF has a Professional Actors' Training program. Students graduate from this program with an MFA from The University of Alabama's Department of Theatre and Dance. The University of Alabama (also known as Alabama, UA, or colloquially as Bama) is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. ...

Since 1998, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts moved into the park and across from the Shakespeare Theatre.

External link

ASF home page (http://www.asf.net)

ASF Graduate Programs (http://www.asf.net/gradprogram.cfm)

The University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance (http://www.as.ua.edu/theatre/)