The Austin Shakespeare Festival is in the midst of one of the most remarkable renaissances in Austin theatre history. During the last three seasons, for the first time ever, Austin audiences had an opportunity to see a professional Equity company presenting an entire yearlong season of plays dedicated exclusively to William Shakespeare. We told you and the City of Austin that we would give you not just the stars, but "the sun and the moon"; that we would reinvigorate our organization and establish ASF as a Shakespeare theatre worthy of Austin's national reputation as a place of cultural diversity, learning and artistic creativity. We delivered on that promise.

AND THE BEST IS YET TO COME! Over the last three seasons we have been honored with sixty-seven (67) B. Iden Payne Award and Austin Critic’s Table Award nominations for theatrical excellence—winning awards for Best Production three years in a row—including our most recent winner—the American premiere of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s and David Johnston’s new translation of Lope de Vega’s The Dog in the Manger.

Our current 2005-06 Season looks just as promising. We opened the season with the greatest play of all time, Hamlet, in a special engagement three-week run and set new ASF box-office and attendance records in the process. The rest of our 2005-06 Season looks just as bright. We are poised to delight Austin audiences again with Sheridan’s comic masterpiece The Rivals playing in repertory with Shakespeare’s most beloved villain, Richard III, February 23 – March 19, 2006 at the Austin Playhouse. We conclude our season with our annual free production of Shakespeare in Zilker Park: the American Premiere of a new version of As You Like It, featuring original music by the Bare Naked Ladies playing April 28 – May 28, 2006.

Thank you for joining us on this extraordinary, almost unbelievable journey. I am confident ASF will continue to dazzle and amaze you with our already beloved tradition of presenting Shakespeare's timeless classics as EXPERIENCES that reverberate with the thoughts and feelings of today.

See you at the theatre!
Guy Roberts,
Artistic Director