South Arts is providing Murray State with a regional touring grant to support the engagement of the American Shakespeare Center for public performance and education during the Murray Shakespeare Festival in 2014. A total of $433,193 in funding from South Arts for 100 grants will support projects that involve presenters, audiences and communities.
Dr. William (Rusty) Jones, an assistant professor in the MSU department of English and philosophy and the director of the festival in Murray, is pleased about the opportunity the South Arts grants provides for next year. “I am proud that the Murray Shakespeare Festival received this award from the South Arts granting organization,” Jones said. “This money will help us fund our ambitious six-show model for March 2014 so we can reach more students and community members than ever before.
South Arts, based in Atlanta, Ga., was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts works in partnership with state arts agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. South Arts is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, member states, foundations, businesses and individuals.
Plans for the 2014 Murray Shakespeare Festival include the presentation of Othello, Henry IV Part 1 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. The festival will run March 10-14, 2014. For more information, go online at www.murraystate.edu/shakespeare.
