Our Mission
Core Purpose
Inspired by William Shakespeare, who through the rhetoric and poetry of the English language, gave voice to the deepest experience of being human, we are committed to creating community through the production of high quality professional theater experiences. We produce and support theatrical events that explore and celebrate the human spirit. We create a company that is accessible and integrated with the Tri-Valley and Greater San Francisco Bay Area.
The Vision
Artists from all over the country will vie for an opportunity to work with us. Our young people as well as our adult citizens will speak of Shakespeare, theater and language with authority as they have grown up with them as friends of the family. We will inspire others, through our growth and development as a unique organization, to create new arts groups that will explore and innovate in their own art forms.
Values Statement
We believe the desire to create and celebrate a rich, vibrant community of individuals who are connected to their own humanity and the humanity of others is a core value shared by residents and businesses of and visitors to the Tri-Valley Area. The arts, particularly theater, connect all of us to our pasts, futures, and most importantly, to the present moment. Theater dramatizes and enhances these connections through the provocative presence of the living actor. We further believe each of us is strengthened and enriched by the artistic expression of individual and collective experiences. Thus, every person and every community should have the privilege to create or participate in such experiences, and by so doing give voice to a community discourse, one that stirs us to reflect and act upon our most deeply held values. Finally, we believe the arts are a vital part of a healthy, tolerant and equitable society, one to which people of all ages and backgrounds have a need and a right to belong. Shakespeare’s Associates, dba Livermore Shakespeare Festival, is committed to creating this vibrant and compassionate community by producing live professional theater for the enrichment of all.
Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
All the world’s a stage, and we, from all ethnic and economic backgrounds, with various physical abilities, and of diverse gender and sexual identities, merely players. Livermore Shakespeare Festival (LSF) is committed to continually striving for diversity, equity, and inclusion in its hiring practices, through its dedication to the presentation of classical theater, and by its promotion of contemporary literature.
Our objective is to reflect the diversity of our Bay Area audience members on stage and behind the scenes. Diversity, equity, and inclusion also extends into LSF’s organizational management and education programs. Accordingly, LSF’s artistic and administrative hiring practices are reflective of the diversity within the Tri Valley and throughout the broader San Francisco Bay Area. We value an inclusive community.
For many years, LSF has been committed to the hiring of women practitioners. At present, our permanent staff is exclusively female. LSF continues in this cutting edge approach as a way to give voice to a vast group of people who have traditionally been sidelined in the theatre.
William Shakespeare does not sugar-coat the difficulties of struggle. He provides a space, in time and place, for the story of the struggle to be told. We believe that to break through the struggle, it is necessary to become not only an equitable, passionate, and compassionate human being but also a producing theatre company of the same nature. He encourages the conversation to continue. All of us who participate in LSF’s programs are part of the conversation, contributing to a future that is a credit to us and a gift to those who follow.
Goals
We will become a year-round professional regional theater, attracting thousands of visitors to the Livermore Valley Wine Country to enjoy the arts, wine and community in the open space culture which we who live here cherish, and offer a range of theatrical presentations in multiple Tri-Valley venues.
We will continue to produce two summer Shakespeare productions and to offer contemporary plays indoors, producing intimate theatrical experiences that enliven people’s interest in the performing arts.
Our educational programs for both youth and adults will include integrated programming in our schools, and presentations and workshops for adults that are a highlight of the recreational life of the community.
Shakespeare’s Associates, Inc., Producers of the Livermore Shakespeare Festival
PHOTO BY Gregg Le Blanc, CumulusLight.com.
Armando McClain & Jennifer Le Blanc in Macbeth, 2011.
Directed by Lisa A. Tromovitch.
Costumes by Joanne Martin and Barbara Murray.