Staging a full-length Shakespeare play can greatly improve the skills of a small theatre group, but production costs could be prohibitive. From the number of actors to the elaborate design to the performance space required, doing Shakespeare like the big companies is simply impossible for many non-professional troupes. But does that mean enthusiasts can't stage the stories of the greatest playwright of all time?

Shoestring Shakespeare came about because a producer had great actors but a limited budget. The result was a strongly-themed abridgment of Macbeth that needs only four actors, with three having multiple roles. And while taking on multiple roles is no new thing for actors in theatre, especially for those who perform in Shakespearean plays, the abridged story used those multiple roles to highlight the chosen theme.

Today, Shoestring Shakespeare is a collection of abridgments requiring a few actors who are tasked to play multiple roles, with those character changes contributing to a theme. The scripts challenge non-professional directors and actors to take their craft to the next level.