Founded in 2010Island Shakespeare Festival was founded in 2010 with the goal of bringing the language of the great classics, notably the works of William Shakespeare, to the South Whidbey community. A “Pay What You Will” model would make Shakespeare affordable for everyone.
As You Like It was selected for the inaugural production to take place at StoryHouse Stage in the woods of the Whidbey Institute. All involved were astounded when approximately 800 people attended over the course of two weekends, through rain and shine.
After the success of
As You Like It, the team realized there was interest and potential in creating a Shakespeare Festival in our community. 2011 and 2012 saw great success with
Romeo and Juliet and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and ISF outgrew our first home at StoryHouse.
We commissioned a vintage-style circus tent as a new home in 2013, which allowed flexibility as we found the right spot. By 2014, we added a second production and realized our dream of rotating repertory. In 2016, we added a third production to our rotation, as well as educational and outreach offerings.
ISF’s growth has continued as we've honed our summer season and explored more shoulder season offerings. We've also seen a shift from primarily local talent to including artists from across the country to spend the summer working with us on the island. This growth has coincided with an iterative commitment to intersectional and inclusive representation in our company.
As we enter our own "Act II" of sorts, we're taking strides to become a premiere destination theatre, serving our region and beyond.
