Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (CSC) is a professional ensemble theater located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, focusing on Shakespearean and other classical works. It was originally incorporated as the Fahrenheit Theatre Company, founded in 1993 by a group of young theater artists with a small grant and the mission of producing Shakespeare and the classics for modern audiences. The company's first production was "The Mourning Dove" by Ken Kawaji, performed at BaseArt Gallery. It then produced a full season of five plays in various local venues, beginning with Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew at Gabriel's Corner in Over-the-Rhine. CSC is currently led by producing artistic director Brian Isaac Phillips. As of 2015, the company employed 46 artists: a company of 27 professional actors and stage managers (including 17 members of Actor's Equity), 14 professional directors, designers, and technicians, and six arts administration professionals, with an operating budget of almost $1.5 million. In 2014, with its production of The Two Noble Kinsmen, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company became one of the first five theaters in the United States to complete the canon of Shakespeare's plays. The company has also premiered new works, including The Rewards of Being Frank by Alice Scovell (2022), Gaslight by Steven Dietz (2023), Wrecking Ball by Zina Camblin (2023), A Room in the Castle by Lauren Gunderson (2025), and Mrs. Dalloway: A New Musical with book, music, and lyrics by Lindsey Augusta-Mercer. CSC remains a active cultural brand in Cincinnati, known for its classical repertoire and ensemble approach.

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company was originally incorporated under the name Fahrenheit Theatre Company. Beginning with a small grant in 1993, a group of young theater artists founded the FTC with the mission of producing Shakespeare and the classics for modern audiences. FTC's first production was "The Mourning Dove" by Ken Kawaji, performed at BaseArt Gallery. The company then produced a full season of five plays in various local venues, beginning with Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew at Gabriel's Corner in Over-the-Rhine. Over the years, the company systematically produced the Shakespearean canon. Key milestones include the first productions of many plays in the 1990s and 2000s, such as The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Julius Caesar in the 1995/96 season; Hamlet and Othello in the 1998/99 season; and King Lear and The Wars of the Roses in the 1999/2000 season. The company completed the canon in 2014 with The Two Noble Kinsmen, becoming one of the first five theaters in the United States to do so. In addition to classical works, CSC has premiered new plays and musicals, including The Rewards of Being Frank by Alice Scovell (2022), Gaslight by Steven Dietz (2023), Wrecking Ball by Zina Camblin (2023), A Room in the Castle by Lauren Gunderson (2025), and Mrs. Dalloway: A New Musical by Lindsey Augusta-Mercer. The company is currently led by producing artistic director Brian Isaac Phillips and, as of 2015, employed 46 artists with an operating budget of almost $1.5 million.

• 2025

  World premiere of A Room in the Castle by Lauren Gunderson.

• 2023

  World premieres of Gaslight by Steven Dietz and Wrecking Ball by Zina Camblin.

• 2022

  World premiere of The Rewards of Being Frank by Alice Scovell.

• 2014

  Completes the Shakespeare canon with The Two Noble Kinsmen, among the first five U.S. theaters to do so.

• 1995

  First full season begins with The Taming of the Shrew at Gabriel's Corner.

• 1993

  Fahrenheit Theatre Company founded with a small grant.

Professional ensemble theater specializing in Shakespeare and classics for modern audiences.

• The Taming of the Shrew

• Twelfth Night

• Julius Caesar

• Hamlet

• Othello

• King Lear

• The Two Noble Kinsmen

• The Rewards of Being Frank

• Gaslight

• Wrecking Ball

• A Room in the Castle

• Mrs. Dalloway: A New Musical

1. 1Cincinnati Shakespeare Company - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Cincinnati Shakespeare Company launches campaign for 19K-square-foot community arts centerwcpo.com