Shakespeare Theatre
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY CREATES, PRESERVES AND PROMOTES CLASSIC THEATRE-AMBITIOUS, ENDURING PLAYS WITH UNIVERSAL THEMES-FOR ALL AUDIENCES. THROUGH THE CREATION OF PROVOCATIVE, IMAGINATIVE, AND ACCESSIBLE THEATRE, STC IGNITES A DIALOGUE THAT CONNECTS THE UNIVERSALITY OF CLASSIC WORKS TO THE SHARED HUMAN EXPERIENCES OF THE MODERN WORLD.
- Income
- $20.4 million
- Spending
- $25.0 million
- Spent on programs
- 69%
- Reserves
- -5.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 53%
- Employees
- 480
- Volunteers
- 400
- Highest pay
- $490,835, artistic director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 31 out of 100. Higher than 3% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 28% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 23% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 29% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1569% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 32 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2537 of 38 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (2)
- $16.0 million spent. PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAMS: AT STC, A CLASSICAL PLAY IS DEFINED NOT ONLY BY THE CALIBER OF ITS LANGUAGE, BUT BY THE TIMELESSNESS OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCES AND DILEMMAS IT ADDRESSES AND THE PROFOUND QUESTIONS IT POSES. FAMILY, LOVE, POWER, CORRUPTION, ARE ALL THEMES WITH RELEVANCE TO PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND, WHICH ARE ESPECIALLY TIMELY IN LIGHT OF CURRENT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES.SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1985, STC HAS STAGED MORE THAN 150 PRODUCTIONS, INCLUDING EVERY PLAY IN SHAKESPEARE'S RECOGNIZED CANON, AND REACHED OVER 2.5 MILLION AUDIENCE MEMBERS. STC PRODUCES 6-7 MAINSTAGE PRODUCTIONS ANNUALLY. ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SIMON GODWIN CULTIVATES A SEASON OF NEW AND CLASSIC THEATRE RANGING FROM SHAKESPEARE PLAYS TO NEW REVIVALS AND WORLD PREMIERES, NEW COMMISSIONS, MUSICALS, AND INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS, TELLING VITAL STORIES IN AUDACIOUS, NEW WAYS THAT SPEAK TO A WIDE AUDIENCE.SHAKESPEARE IS OUR MUSE, AND STC'S FRESH TAKES ON WELL-KNOWN PLAYS SOLIDIFIED STC'S REPUTATION AS T "THE NATION'S FOREMOST SHAKESPEARE COMPANY" (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) (PRODUCING "A REPERTORY OF CLASSICS THAT NO NEW YORK THEATRE OF SIMILAR SIZE AND SCALE CAN MATCH" (THE NEW YORK TIMES). STC HAS ATTRACTED MAJOR RECOGNITION INCLUDING THE 2012 REGIONAL THEATRE TONY AWARD AND 100+ HELEN HAYES AWARDS.THE THEATRE COMMISSIONS ADAPTATIONS OF CLASSIC PLAYS SUCH AS AESCHYLUS'S "THE ORESTEIA" IN 2019, ADAPTED BY ELLEN MCLAUGHLIN AND "PETER PAN AND WENDY," AN ADAPTATION OF J.M. BARRY'S EARLY 20TH C. NOVEL BY AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT LAUREN GUNDERSON. ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SIMON GODWIN HAS EXPANDED INTO AMERICAN CLASSICS, PRODUCING JAMES BALDWIN'S "THE AMEN CORNER" IN 2020, THE FIRST MAJOR PRODUCTION SINCE ITS 1955 PREMIERE AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY AND THORNTON WILDER'S PULITZER PRIZE WINNING OUR TOWN IN 2022. EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVITY ARE CORE TO STC'S MISSION. TO MAKE THE THEATRE MORE ACCESSIBLE, STC OFFERS FREE OR DISCOUNTED TICKETS TO STUDENTS, VETERANS, SENIORS, YOUNG PROFESSIONALS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT COULD NOT ATTEND OTHERWISE. STC'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC AND INCLUDE DISCUSSIONS CURATED BY STC'S STAFF, PODCASTS FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH ARTISTS AND DIRECTORS FROM CURRENT PRODUCTIONS, PERFORMANCES BY LOCAL ARTISTS AND ART ORGANIZATIONS, WORKSHOPS, AND MORE.OUR TICKET AND SUBSCRIPTION SALES SHOW WE'RE DOING WORK THAT AUDIENCES ARE CLAMORING FOR: BETWEEN FY19 AND FY24, OUR SINGLE TICKET SALES ROSE 194% AND SUBSCRIPTIONS INCREASED BY 122%, BUCKING NATIONAL TRENDS IN THE THEATRE INDUSTRY.
- $1.3 million spent. EDUCATION PROGRAMSSTC'S LEARNING DEPARTMENT HAS PROVIDED ARTS EDUCATION EXPERIENCES TO MORE THAN 100,000 CHILDREN AND ADULTS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DECADES. THROUGH ACCESSIBLE, HIGH-CALIBER EDUCATION PROGRAMS LED BY PROFESSIONAL TEACHING ARTISTS, STC TOUCHES PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS, AND THROUGH STC ACADEMY, ITS GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAM, STC FOSTERS THE NEXT GENERATION OF CLASSICAL ARTISTS. RENAMED STC LEARNING, THE LEARNING TEAM MAINTAINS LONGTIME PARTNERSHIPS WITH ALL DC PUBLIC AND PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS SCHOOLS IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA. WORKING WITH LOCAL TEACHERS, STC INTEGRATES COMMON CORE-ALIGNED THEATRE ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAMMING INTO INDIVIDUAL CLASSROOMS. FOLLOWING SUCCESS DURING THE PANDEMIC, STC HAS DEVELOPED INNOVATIVE ONLINE PROGRAMS TO SERVE STUDENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. STC OFFERS A VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING. THE LEARNING DEPARTMENT OFFERS THREE LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: 1) STUDENT MATINEES, THE LARGEST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, BRING STUDENTS FROM THE DC, MARYLAND, AND VIRGINIA TO THE THEATRE FOR AN STC MATINEE AT VERY LOW COST, PROVIDING MANY STUDENTS THEIR FIRST INTRODUCTION TO LIVE THEATRE. PERFORMANCES ARE SUPPLEMENTED BY PRE-SHOW EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND POST-SHOW TALKBACKS; 2) WORKSHOPS PROVIDE TEACHING ARTISTS TO LOCAL CLASSROOMS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS STUDYING SHAKESPEARE, USING PERFORMANCE-BASED ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE ACTIVE LEARNING; AND 3) RESIDENCIES PROVIDE A CLASSROOM WITH 10 TEACHING ARTIST-LED WORKSHOPS, DURING WHICH STUDENTS EXPLORE PLAYS THROUGH A VARIETY OF LENSES INCLUDING SET DESIGN, COSTUMES, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, TEXT DISSECTION, AND MORE. STUDENTS THEN CHOOSE ONE OF THESE PLAYS AND CREATE A SCENE BASED ON WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED IN THEIR WORKSHOPS; THE WORK CULMINATES WITH STUDENTS FROM EACH CLASS PERFORMING THEIR SCENE AT A "FESTIVAL DAY" FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. STC ALSO OFFERS A VARIETY OF YEAR-ROUND ACTING CLASSES FOR YOUTH AND ADULTS, 10 WEEKS OF CAMP SHAKESPEARE EACH SUMMER FOR AGES 5 18, AND ADULT CLASSES IN ACTING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL ACTORS. REGULAR FREE PROGRAMS INCLUDE DISCUSSIONS AND "ASIDES," STC'S DRAMATURGICAL MAGAZINE PRODUCED FOR EACH PLAY.STC'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS BUILD CONNECTIONS WITH DC RESIDENTS AND LOCAL ARTISTS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HOWARD UNIVERSITY AND THE NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC PROGRAMMING WAS PROVIDED THROUGH A MONTH-LONG "AMEN BALDWIN! FESTIVAL" TO COMPLEMENT THE FIRST PRODUCTION OF JAMES BALDWIN'S AMEN CORNER SINCE IT PREMIERED AT HOWARD IN THE 1950S. THE FESTIVAL OFFERED A FILM SERIES, PERFORMANCES, EXHIBITIONS, LECTURES, AND MORE. STC REGULARLY PROVIDES DEMONSTRATIONS AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR LOCAL FESTIVALS AND OFFERS VOLUNTEER AND APPRENTICE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS.IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, STC HAS A MASTER OF FINE ARTS DEGREE TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF ACTORS. THE ACADEMY FOR CLASSICAL ACTING (ACA) IS FULLY ACCREDITED AND HIGHLY COMPETITIVE. NOW IN ITS 25TH YEAR, THE ACA TYPICALLY ACCEPTS ONLY 18-20 APPLICANTS EACH YEAR TO ENSURE RIGOROUS, INTENSIVE TRAINING. STUDENTS OFTEN SERVE AS UNDERSTUDIES IN MAJOR STC PRODUCTIONS, AND ALUMNI PERFORM IN PROFESSIONAL THEATRE COMPANIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending July 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending July 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since November 1985.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
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