We've got a few tee shirts left and we want to free up that storage space, so take the opportunity to scoop up some bundled tee shirt deals. Shop now for shirts or other SitP logo or items!

Whether it's holiday gift-giving or year-round everyday shopping, there are a TON of ways you can help fund Shakespeare by just taking a couple of extra steps!

From Abercrombie & Fitch to Zappo's, dozens and dozens of major retailers offer rebates to charitable organizations when you pay via Benefit Mobile.

​
All you need to do is follow the link:
https://www.benefit-mobile.com/causes/FreeShakespeare
And then follow the directions (download the app, add a credit card and/or bank account, look up your retailers before you checkout)

​Check it out and make your donation now at eCards!

You can also find the eCards link from our SHOP page (along with baseball caps, stickers, t-shirts, seat cushions and MUCH MORE!!)

Will in the World
Stephen Greenblatt

The Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, reissued with a new afterword for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

A young man from a small provincial town moves to London in the late 1580s and, in a remarkably short time, becomes the greatest playwright not of his age alone but of all time. How is an achievement of this magnitude to be explained? Stephen Greenblatt brings us down to earth to see, hear and feel how an acutely sensitive and talented boy, surrounded by the rich tapestry of Elizabethan life, could have become the world’s greatest playwright.

The Millionaire and the Bard
Andrea May

When Shakespeare died in 1616 half of his plays died with him. No one—not even their author—believed that his writings would last, that he was a genius, or that future generations would celebrate him as the greatest author in the history of the English language. By the time of his death his plays were rarely performed, eighteen of them had never been published, and the rest existed only in bastardized forms that did not stay true to his original language.

Seven years later, in 1623, Shakespeare’s business partners, companions, and fellow actors, John Heminges and Henry Condell, gathered copies of the plays and manuscripts, edited and published thirty-six of them. This massive book, the First Folio, was intended as a memorial to their deceased friend. They could not have known that it would become one of the most important books ever published in the English language, nor that it would become a fetish object for collectors.
The Millionaire and the Bard is a literary detective story, the tale of two mysterious men—a brilliant author and his obsessive collector—separated by space and time. It is a tale of two cities—Elizabethan and Jacobean London and Gilded Age New York. It is a chronicle of two worlds—of art and commerce—that unfolded an ocean and three centuries apart. And it is the thrilling tale of the luminous book that saved the name of William Shakespeare “to the last syllable of recorded time.”

Today it is the most valuable book in the world. Recently one sold for more than five million dollars. It is the book that rescued the name of William Shakespeare and half of his plays from oblivion. The Millionaire and the Bard tells the miraculous and romantic story of the making of the First Folio, and of the American industrialist whose thrilling pursuit of the book became a lifelong obsession.

​And they ARE! 

And THEY have promised to challenge two MORE people (each!) when their own fundraisers are complete!

If you think that's cool, you don't have to wait for the challenge to make its way to you!
You can start your very own challenge chain!

How?
Easy!

First (and especially) if your birthday is coming up soon, make a plan: decide how long you'd like to run your fundraiser (10-14 days seems manageable, but your mileage may vary), when you'd like to start it, what you'd like to say to your friends and family when you ask them to support Optimist Theatre (the entity registered with Facebook as a nonprofit; we do ask that you @ tag the Shakespeare in the Park page -- @ShaxParkMKE in your intro text).

Then, go to town! The image below shows you how/where to get started.
Promote your fundraiser while it's active. Think about a couple of your own friends with birthdays on the horizon who value free Shakespeare in Milwaukee. When your fundraiser ends, challenge them to do the same!

Finally, bask in our gratitude. Our fans are the best fans, and it's projects like this that just prove it!

Note: if you need help, contact us and we'll be happy to assist you.

Historians have assumed that the third child (and oldest surviving son) of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden was baptized at roughly three days old. April 23rd is a convenient date to designate, being that it is also St. George's Day (patron saint of England) AND the date on which Shakespeare died in 1616. The symmetry is just too much to let go. 

But, of course, it is no longer the 16th century, and we love birthdays. So, we take advantage of the uncertainty surrounding wee Will's birth date to just celebrate for a week or more, calling it close enough, and then stuffing our faces with cake and iambic pentameter! Which is one of the ways that we'll be celebrating: Shakespeare in the Park Members will be gathering for some cake and fun at a party on Friday.

We're also giving you the opportunity to give Will some birthday gifts, in the form of supporting this year's production of Much Ado About Nothing!

Thanks for playing along with us -- and for supporting free professional performance of Shakespeare in Milwaukee!

2017's Shakespeare in the Park 
will be presented at the Peck Pavilion at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts!!!!

Shakespeare in the Park is joining the Marcus Center's company as a new resident group. The Marcus Center has a rich history of providing top-notch free entertainment via their Live @ Peck Pavilion summer series. Inviting Shakespeare in the Park to join the fun is a natural partnership.
​
​You can read the full press release here, issued today by Optimist Theatre. 

There are a LOT of reasons that we are excited about this partnership, including the opportunity to enhance the audience experience, to broaden our community outreach...to offer you Saz's catering before the show (really!). We'll keep you informed as some of the new logistics of coming to this year's show come together.

In the meanwhile, pre-production is revving up: auditions and casting are in progress. We're fundraising like mad to ensure that we are able to meet all of our new obligations.