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The American Shakespeare Center recovers the joys and accessibility of Shakespeare's theatre, language, and humanity by exploring the English Renaissance stage and its practices through performance and education.The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) has become a cultural treasure for Virginia and an international resource for scholars and students of all ages. A quarter of a million people - 50,000 of them students - have enjoyed Shakespeare in his "natural habitat" since the Blackfriars Playhouse opened in 2001.

The ASC puts you in the center of the action by leaving the lights on you. Lit by chandeliers and wall sconces, the Blackfriars Playhouse allows the actors to see the audience and include you in the world of plays. The actors in your midst turn you into the court of King Lear, Richard II's army, and Hamlet's confidant.Join us fifty-two weeks a year for our acclaimed performances; attend our lectures, the Blackfriars Conference, Shakespeare' ...