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The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) is the seventh largest Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 festival in the world. Each year, it attracts more than 300,000 visitors from throughout the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and more than 60 countries, to its home in Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the Capital , second most populous city, and the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the Southern United States United States state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama....
, Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
.

ASF operates all year, its professional repertory company producing 12–14 world-class productions annually, typically including three works of William Shakespeare. Other plays sample various genres and playwright
Playwright

A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works may be written specifically to be performed by actors or they may be closet dramas or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance....
s, classical and modern, sometimes with an emphasis on Southern
Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
 works.






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The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) is the seventh largest Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 festival in the world. Each year, it attracts more than 300,000 visitors from throughout the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and more than 60 countries, to its home in Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the Capital , second most populous city, and the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the Southern United States United States state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama....
, Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
.

ASF operates all year, its professional repertory company producing 12–14 world-class productions annually, typically including three works of William Shakespeare. Other plays sample various genres and playwright
Playwright

A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works may be written specifically to be performed by actors or they may be closet dramas or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance....
s, classical and modern, sometimes with an emphasis on Southern
Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
 works. ASF's Southern Writers Project nurtures the creation of new plays that reflect Southern themes.

ASF began in 1972 as a summer-stock theater project in Anniston
Anniston, Alabama

Anniston is a city in Calhoun County, Alabama in the U.S. state of Alabama, United States. As of the United States Census 2000, the population of the city is 24,276....
; its first performance was at the Anniston High School auditorium, before a single critic and his wife; the critic considered the performance very poor and predicted that ASF would not survive. Eventually, the Shakespeare Festival grew to garner critical acclaim, but lacked the financial support to keep it afloat. In December 1985, ASF moved to Montgomery, as the result of Mr. and Mrs. Winton Blount's
Winton M. Blount

Winton Malcolm "Red" Blount, Jr. was the United States Postmaster General from 1969-1972. He is also known as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of construction giant Blount International....
 $21.5-million gift of a performing-arts complex set in a 250-acre (1-km˛) landscaped park, the Winton M. Blount Cultural Park. The Carolyn Blount Theatre houses the 750-seat Festival Stage and the 225-seat Octagon Theatre.

ASF operates a Professional Actor Training program leading to the M.F.A.
Master of Fine Arts

In the United States, a Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring two to three years of study beyond the bachelor's degree level and usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, or theater/performing arts....
 degree in cooperation with the University of Alabama
University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a state university coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship university of the University of Alabama System....
 Department of Theatre and Dance. Tony Award
Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
–winning actor Norbert Leo Butz
Norbert Leo Butz

Norbert Leo Butz is an United States actor best known for his work in Broadway theatre.BiographyPersonal lifeButz was born in St....
 and Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
–winning actor Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson

Michael Emerson is an United States actor of the theater and film. He won an "Outstanding Guest Actor" Emmy Award in 2001 for a part on The Practice and played List of Saw characters#Zep Hindle in the 2004 film Saw , but he is best known for his role as Benjamin Linus in the television series Lost ....
 are two of the program's most successful alumni. On April 25, 2008, ASF announced that its relationship with the University of Alabama will be phased out after the current class graduates in August 2009.

Since 1998, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is a museum located in Montgomery, Alabama, Alabama, USA, featuring several art collections. For seventy years, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts has been a showcase for the visual arts in Central Alabama....
 has also been in the Blount Cultural Park.

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