Who are we?

Hello, world.

Or, to be more accurate: hello, Utah.

We are the Grassroots Shakespeare Company.

We are here to bring Shakespeare's plays to Utah's masses in their most accessible, and most authentic form.

We perform outdoors, in natural light, with hardly any rehearsal beforehand. Our plays are fast-paced, funny, intriguing, and simple. Just as they were in Shakespeare's day, four-hundred years ago.

You see, Shakespeare's players were an interesting bunch. None of them had a whole copy of the script, for one thing. Instead, they had "cue scripts," consisting only of their cues and their lines. This meant they had to listen extremely carefully to each other in order to perform their parts. On top of that, their rehearsal process was unbelievably short - in fact, some people believe they didn't rehearse at all!

Also, they had no director, no designers, and no "concept." Instead, the actors directed themselves, brought their own costumes and props, and relied on the sun to light them. As a result, the plays they performed were probably nothing like what you'll see today at, say, the Utah Shakespearean Festival. At the Globe, Shakespeare's plays probably had anachronistic costumes, very high audience interaction, and a lot of improvisation.

In the spirit of these original practices, the Grassroots Shakespeare Company was born to explore the text of Shakespeare's plays by performing them under similar conditions. We use cue scripts, we use the sun, we improvise, and we bring our own costumes and props. What you'll see, if you come to one of our shows, is a vibrant, high-energy performance of some beautiful language and fun music, probably in a grassy, sunlit park.

All of our performances are "Pay-What-You-Will," meaning if you hate the show, it's free! Our inaugural performance, appearing at local arts festivals during the month of June, is Much Ado About Nothing - a charming comedy with something for everyone!

If you'd like more information, or would like the Grassroots Shakespeare Company to perform for any reason at all - festivals, fund-raisers, company parties, drama/english classes - send your inquiry to GrassrootsShakespeare@gmail.com today!