Free For All Moves to
Sidney Harman Hall

The ensemble of 'The Taming of the Shrew,' to be remounted at the 2009 Free For All. Photo by Scott Suchman.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company is pleased to announce that in 2009 the Free For All will move from its previous location at Carter Barron Amphitheatre to Sidney Harman Hall.

The move will increase the metro-accessibility of the event, prevent weather-related cancellations, and allow the Shakespeare Theatre Company to maintain the artistic integrity of Free For All productions thanks to the state-of-the-art capabilities of Sidney Harman Hall. By changing venues, the Company also will be able to host a variety of additional family-friendly events to coincide with Free For All performances.

“The Free For All is a much loved Washington tradition,” said Michael Kahn, artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. “Since it was founded in 1991, more than 560,000 people have enjoyed our free performances of Shakespeare. By moving the Free For All to downtown’s centrally located Sidney Harman Hall, we will improve access to these performances, thanks to our proximity to three metro lines and numerous bus lines. We also will be able to mount Free For All productions with the same rich production values you experience at all of our mainstage shows. And by attracting an additional 17,000 patrons to the Penn Quarter neighborhood each year, we will further our mission to enliven downtown and support the revitalization of this exciting area.”

In 2009, the Free For All will feature a remount of the 2007 production of Rebecca Bayla Taichman’s The Taming of the Shrew. Performances will run from September 5 to September 20, 2009. More than 17,000 patrons will have a chance to see this free production of Shakespeare.

"One of the major goals of the Free For All is to make Shakespeare accessible to diverse audiences,” Kahn explained. “Free For All attracts people who have never been to the theatre, people who are unable to pay for tickets or afford a babysitter, young people, students, people on fixed incomes. They all come to experience the magic of Shakespeare, to see how his words and ideas still resonate with us more than 400 years later. We hope that by changing venues we will be able to expand and improve this cherished event, while continuing to make free Shakespeare available to as wide of an audience as possible."

Friends of Free For All will still be able to receive their reserved tickets in advance by making a tax-deductible contribution to support this important outreach program, while subscribers will continue to have the opportunity to reserve advance tickets to the Free For All. We also will continue to give away day-of tickets online and in-person at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Box Offices. More information about special events, volunteer opportunities and ticket distribution related to Free For All will be announced in summer of 2009.