THE PLAYHOUSE CAMPAIGN
Building a Stage for Nashville’s Future
Pictured: Rendering of The Playhouse with Romeo and Juliet balcony scene. Credit: HASTINGS Architecture
Beginning in 2027, The Playhouse will transform the historic Centennial Park Bandshell into an Elizabethan-inspired theatre each summer.
Designed specifically for Shakespeare in the Park, this reusable structure will create a distinctive theatrical home that can return year after year while allowing each production to look and feel entirely its own.
Original concept by NSF Artistic Director Jason Spelbring
Original scenic design by Phillip Franck
Refinement, engineering, and design by Hastings Architecture
One Playhouse, Many Worlds
Pictured: Renderings of The Playhouse with Henry V and Cymbeline scenes. Credit: HASTINGS Architecture
The design of The Playhouse draws inspiration from Shakespeare’s Globe and the flexible traditions of Elizabethan theatre.
In Shakespeare’s time, companies did not build an entirely new world from the ground up for every play. The architecture of the playhouse remained, while costumes, props, scenic elements, music, lighting, and the words themselves transformed the stage. The same structure could become a royal palace one evening, a battlefield the next, or a moonlit forest filled with fairies.
The Playhouse brings that theatrical flexibility to Centennial Park.
Its balconies, towers, doors, slip stage, central playing space, and musician’s gallery will give directors and designers a rich architectural framework to work within. From there, each production can layer in its own scenic elements and design vocabulary.
More Than a Set
ACCESS FOR EVERYONE
For nearly four decades, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival has offered Shakespeare in the Park on a pay-what-you-will basis. The Playhouse is an investment in keeping that tradition strong and accessible for future generations.
BUILT TO RETURN
Instead of constructing a completely new temporary scenic structure every summer, NSF will be able to install, store, and reuse The Playhouse year after year. Productions can still look entirely different, while more resources can be directed toward artists, education, programming, and the audience experience.
AN ANNUAL HOME
Each summer, The Playhouse will rise within the historic Bandshell and signal the return of Shakespeare to Centennial Park, creating a recognizable home for a Nashville tradition that began in 1988.
FEATURED IN THE NASHVILLE SCENE
Our return to Centennial Park is both a homecoming and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Nashville Shakespeare Festival. In a new feature, the Nashville Scene explores our history in the park, what it means to return to the historic Bandshell, and our vision for The Playhouse.
Read the full story to learn more about the inspiration behind this reusable, Elizabethan-inspired structure and how it could create a lasting home for Shakespeare in the Park for years to come.
Built By Many. Shared By All.
Pictured: Crowd at NSF’s 2016 production of The Comedy of Errors
Our $350,000 campaign will fund the construction of The Playhouse and help support the installation, storage, maintenance, and infrastructure needed for it to return in future seasons.
Thanks to an extraordinary group of early supporters, over $161,000 has already been pledged. Their leadership has brought this vision nearly halfway to reality.
Now we are inviting Nashville to help build the rest.
MAKE A GIFT
Every gift in any dollar amount brings The Playhouse closer to the Bandshell stage. Together, these contributions will help build a reusable home for Shakespeare in the Park.
BUY A BALUSTER · $500
Symbolically sponsor one of the decorative balusters along The Playhouse balcony in your own name or in honor or memory of someone special.
LEADERSHIP GIFTS
Donors considering a significant investment can explore Donor Wall recognition and naming opportunities throughout The Playhouse and the Shakespeare in the Park experience.
Campaign Leaders
We are deeply grateful to the early supporters helping bring The Playhouse to life.
THE FOUNDATION STONES · $25,000+
Anonymous
Donald Capparella
Eric Cook and Jason Somerville
Tony and Lynne McAlister
The Sandra Schatten Foundation
THE BUILDERS · $10,000–$24,999
Martha Rivers Ingram Advised Fund
Dr. C. Matthew Palmer
THE JOINERS · $2,500–$9,999
Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella
Help Build The Playhouse
For nearly four decades, Nashville has gathered under the stars for Shakespeare in the Park.
The Playhouse will help ensure that tradition has a home for decades to come.