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One week before summer solstice, Nashville Shakespeare Festival will debut its new fundraiser, Midsummer Night, June 13 at Anzie Blue. Intended to be the “first annual” signature event in support of the 36-year-old theater program, the inaugural cocktail party will double as a celebration of the career of executive artistic director Denice Hicks, who is stepping down from the lead role after more than three decades with the nonprofit.

Denice joined the young Nashville Shakespeare Festival in 1990 and has served as artistic director since 2005. During her tenure, NSF built on its mission to educate and entertain, adding outreach programs in schools and creating a year-round calendar of performances beyond the original summertime shows. For example, the 2024-25 season will bring As You Like It to outdoor stages at One City in Nashville (Aug. 29-Sept. 22) and Academy Park in Franklin (Sept. 26-29). Summer camps will introduce students to the Bard, poetry, acting, public speaking and word play. NSF’s Shakespeare Education Experience will visit schools to perform an abridged version of Macbeth. NSF will collaborate with Belmont University College of Music and Performing Arts to produce Pride & Prejudice in February and March, and the Shakespeare Allowed! partnership with Nashville Public Library will engage actors, students, professionals, ESL learners, retirees, people experiencing homelessness and more community audiences to participate in reading Shakespeare…aloud.

The hallmark of Nashville Shakespeare Festival is summer outdoor theater, which relocated from Centennial Park to One City in 2019. Since its founding in 1988, NSF has performed for more than 366,000 people, with no formal admission charge.

That’s where the new Midsummer Night party comes in—raising money to allow NSF to expand the work of making Shakespeare and live theater accessible to the community and to continue to provide paid work opportunities for local theater professionals. The evening at Anzie Blue will feature catering by Bacon & Caviar, a silent auction, and performances by local actors—not to mention encores and standing ovations for Denice Hicks, whose leadership has brought Shakespeare to center stage for generations of Nashville audiences.

For tickets to Midsummer Night, June 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Anzie Blue, visit NashvilleShakes.org