Our Mission

Our society was founded in 2008 to provide residents of the Bismarck-Mandan area with free exposure to the life and works of William Shakespeare. We have expanded our programming to include a mid-winter performance of a classic play in February each year. This performance is held in the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum’s Russel Reid Auditorium. Capitol Shakespeare also offers a training program for young actors each summer called The Young Bards. This program offers engaging learning opportunities for actors age 12-17.

Every year we seek to awaken the imagination of our community with our productions. We are proud to offer our productions for free of charge on the beautiful North Dakota State Capitol grounds in Bismarck. Our focus is to attract people of all ages and backgrounds to our events, as we believe that Shakespeare’s works are engaging, entertaining, and inspiring to all audiences.

In 2009, just one week before our second annual summer performance, founder and president of the organization, Crystal Reid, suddenly died. In the spirit of theater, the show opened to crowds of 300 plus each evening. It is our goal to continue to fulfill Crystal’s dream of bringing our community the experience of live Shakespearean theater.