The American Shakespeare Festival Theatre and Academy was conceived in 1950 by Lawrence Langner. It was later incorporated in Connecticut as a not-profit organization. A theatre was opened in 1955, and the house opened with Julius Caesar . Beginning in 1959 special spring performances for students were initiated. As interest and the quality of production waned, non-Shakespearean plays were added to the programs. The name of the organization was shortened in 1972 to the American Shakespeare Theatre. The theatre saw fewer and fewer productions, most critical and public failures. Bankruptcy followed. In 1988 the property was reincorporated as the American Festival Theatre.
From the guide to the Plays and prompt books, 1956-1982., (Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)
