About SCP

Shakespeare in Clark Park is a theatre company committed to presenting free, outdoor productions of Shakespeare’s plays, creating a cultural event accessible to the Clark Park neighborhood and the greater Philadelphia area. While engaging the community and expanding Philadelphia’s summertime cultural scene, Shakespeare in Clark Park re-imagines the world of the park through the works of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare in Clark Park came into being in the fall of 2005 when Marla Burkholder and Maria Möller invited colleagues Tom Reing and Whitney Estrin to join them in their endeavor to present free outdoor summer Shakespeare in Philadelphia. West Philadelphia’s Clark Park, a vibrant green space that is the cornerstone of a diverse community, came to mind as the perfect location for inventive approaches to Shakespeare’s plays. In their inaugural season, Shakespeare in Clark Park presented four performances of Twelfth Night, drawing a diverse audience of over 2,000 people. Toby Zinman of The Philadelphia Inquirer said of the production:

Clark Park is not just a venue, but a real place, where a perfectly shaped, immense tree provides a set of real theatricality. The actors come down the hill into their next scene, and darkness falls just as the plot turns grim. The company has cobbled together, with borrowed footlights and generosity of talent, a real treat for a summer evening.