Shaping Shakespeare: How American Shakespeare Festivals Adapt Shakespeare’s Texts in the Twenty-First Century
type: CreativeWork
description: Shakespeare’s continued importance in American festival settings stems from adaptive and collaborative processes. In this study, adaptation refers to any reinterpretation of Shakespeare's works for contemporary contexts, while collaboration refers to the combined creative efforts among artists and institutions. These processes, including reinterpretation, modernization, and partnership, propel performance and underpin Shakespeare festivals. Such festivals play a central role, balancing cultural prestige with institutional sustainability by prioritizing long-term viability and financial health. At the same time, festivals respond to local audiences' beliefs and interests. Instead of presenting static versions, these institutions continually interpret, revise, and adapt the canon, the authoritative collection of Shakespeare's works, with leadership and public discussion guiding these choices. Examining these processes shows how Shakespeare remains a dynamic and living presence in modern American festivals. This dissertation contends that adaptive choices at American Shakespeare festivals over the last twenty-five years are primarily shaped by the interaction of institutional stewardship and cultural discussion. It specifically argues that collaborative script editing, guided by both artistic leaders and community values, is the key mechanism through which these parties influence interpretive outcomes. By documenting how festival stakeholders, including artistic directors, dramaturgs, directors, actors, and designers, negotiate artistic, operational, and communal priorities in the script review and revision process, this study demonstrates that these negotiations are the decisive driver of the production’s final interpretation. This study argues that Shakespearean adaptation in the US is primarily shaped by collective institutional editing, rather than by individual vision or textual changes. Here, collective editing refers to the formal and informal negotiation proces…
abstract: Shakespeare’s continued importance in American festival settings stems from adaptive and collaborative processes. In this study, adaptation refers to any reinterpretation of Shakespeare's works for contemporary contexts, while collaboration refers to the combined creative efforts among artists and institutions. These processes, including reinterpretation, modernization, and partnership, propel performance and underpin Shakespeare festivals. Such festivals play a central role, balancing cultural prestige with institutional sustainability by prioritizing long-term viability and financial health. At the same time, festivals respond to local audiences' beliefs and interests. Instead of presenting static versions, these institutions continually interpret, revise, and adapt the canon, the authoritative collection of Shakespeare's works, with leadership and public discussion guiding these choices. Examining these processes shows how Shakespeare remains a dynamic and living presence in modern American festivals. This dissertation contends that adaptive choices at American Shakespeare festivals over the last twenty-five years are primarily shaped by the interaction of institutional stewardship and cultural discussion. It specifically argues that collaborative script editing, guided by both artistic leaders and community values, is the key mechanism through which these parties influence interpretive outcomes. By documenting how festival stakeholders, including artistic directors, dramaturgs, directors, actors, and designers, negotiate artistic, operational, and communal priorities in the script review and revision process, this study demonstrates that these negotiations are the decisive driver of the production’s final interpretation. This study argues that Shakespearean adaptation in the US is primarily shaped by collective institutional editing, rather than by individual vision or textual changes. Here, collective editing refers to the formal and informal negotiation proces…
author: Jacques, Paul
keywords: American Shakespeare festivals, Collaborative script editing, Cultural mediation, Performance studies, Shakespeare Adaptation, Shakespeare in performance
date published: 2026-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:41:17Z
provider: Claremont Graduate University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Claremont Graduate University