Nashville Shakespeare Festival
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161 Rains Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
Organization Details

Executive Director


Executive Director Ms. Denice Hicks
E-mail denicehicks@nashvilleshakes.org
Term Start October 2009
Denice's Experience: Denice Hicks has been with The Nashville Shakespeare Festival since 1990, first as an actor, director, and teaching artist, and then as Artistic Director from 1998-2002 and since 2005. Raised in Lenni, PA, she performed as a child with her family in a traveling VFW show. Educated at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, she moved to Nashville in 1980 to perform at Opryland USA. Denice was an original company member of the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, and was among the founders of Darkhorse Theater and of People's Branch Theatre. An Ingram Fellowship award winner and advocate for Arts in Education, she has edited and directed touring productions of Shakespeare's works, developed workshops for students of all ages and created the NSF Apprentice Company Training and Shakespeare Allowed! programs. Her work has been praised by the Tennessean, Broadwayworld.com, Nashville City Search, The City Paper, and the Nashville Scene, from which she has received "Best Actor" and "Best Director" nods.

Co-Executive Director


Co-Executive Director Isabel Tipton-Krispin
E-mail isabel@nashvilleshakes.org
Term Start October 2022
Isabel's Experience:

Senior Staff


Name Title
Ms. Denice Hicks Executive Artistic Director
Ms. Katie Bruno Education Director
Mr. Robert Marigza-Yeo Operations Manager
Isabel Tipton-Krispin Executive Managing Director
Jan Morrison Company Manager
Bob Roberts Grants Manager
Austin Fields Marketing Director
Will Henke Development Coordinator

Staff

Full Time Staff 6
Part Time Staff 2
Volunteers 225
Contractors 1
Retention Rate 83%

Plans & Policies

Does your organization have a Fundraising Plan? Yes
Does your organization have a Strategic Plan? Yes
Years Strategic Plan Considers 5
When was the Strategic Plan adopted? September 2021
Does your organization have a Management Succession Plan? Yes
Does your organization have a Policy and Procedure Plan? Yes
Does the organization have a Nondiscrimination Policy? Yes
Does the organization have a Whistle Blower Policy? No
Does the organization have a Document Destruction Policy? Yes

Evaluation

Is there a formal evaluation for... Frequency (if applicable)
CEO/Executive Director Yes Annually
Senior Management Yes Semi-Annually
Non-Management Yes Semi-Annually

Affiliations

Affiliation Year
Actor's Equity Association 1998
Americans for the Arts 2007
Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville 2006
Belmont University 2007
Center for Nonprofit Management Excellence Network 2000
Institute of Outdoor Drama 1998
Lipscomb University 2015
Metro Arts Commission 1992
Metro Parks and Recreation 1988
Nashville Arts Coalition 1997
Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau 2023
Nashville Public Library 2008
Nashville Public Television 2007
National Endowment for the Arts 2006
NowPlayingNashville.com 2007
Room in the Inn 2014
Shakespeare Theatre Association of America 1998
Tennesseans for the Arts 2000
Tennessee Arts Commission 1996
Williamson County Parks & Recreation 2016

Awards


Award / Recognition Organization Year
Best of Nashville - 'Best Actor: Brian Russell, The Tempest' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2010
Best of Nashville - 'Best Actor: Eric Pasto-Crosby, Macbeth' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2013
Best of Nashville - 'Best Actor: Kamal Bolden, Coriolanus' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2008
Best of Nashville - Best Actor: Nat McIntyre (Othello, Midsummer, As You Like It) Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2014
Best of Nashville - 'Best Actress: Denice Hicks, The Tempest' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2010
Best of Nashville - 'Best Actress: Emily Landham, Romeo & Juliet' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2012
Best of Nashville - Best Actress: Evelyn Oneal Brush (Much Ado About Nothing) Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2014
Best of Nashville - Best Cheap Date Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2017
Best of Nashville - Best Cheap Date Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2014
Best of Nashville - Best Cheap Date Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2015
Best of Nashville - Best Cheap Date Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2016
Best of Nashville - 'Best Director: Mark Cabus, Coriolanus' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2008
Best of Nashville - 'Best Free Fun' Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2008
Best of Nashville - 'Best Free Fun' Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2009
'Best of Nashville' - Best Free Fun Nashville Scene Reader's Poll 2006
'Best of Nashville' - Best Free Fun Nashville Scene Reader's Poll 2005
'Best of Nashville' - Best Free Fun Nashville Scene Reader's Poll 2004
Best of Nashville - Best Local Stage Actor/Actress: Denice HIcks Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2016
Best of Nashville - Best Local Stage Actress/Actor (Denice Hicks, David Compton) Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2015
Best of Nashville - 'Best Place for a Cheap Date' Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2009
Best of Nashville - 'Best Place for a Cheap Date' Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2012
Best of Nashville - 'Best Place for a Cheap Date' Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2013
'Best of Nashville' - Best Place for a Cheap Date Nashville Scene Reader's Poll 2004
Best of Nashville - Best Place to See a Play Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2015
Best of Nashville - Best Place to See a Play Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2016
Best of Nashville - Best Shakespeare (Twelfth Night) Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2015
Best of Nashville - 'Best Shakespeare Starring a Former NFL Running Back: Julius Caesar' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2012
Best of Nashville - 'Best Shakespearean Shake-Up: Richard the Third' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2009
Best of Nashville - 'Best Shakespearean Spectacle: Macbeth' Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2013
Best Professional Theater Company; Best Director of a Musical: Denice Hicks, Much Ado about Nothing; Best Director: Beki Baker, Julius Caesar; Best Ensemble Performance: Julius Caesar BroadwayWorld.com Nashville Readers' Poll 2012
Best Relocation (Writers' Choice) Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2019
Best Stage Actor/Actress - Denice Hicks (1st), Megan Murphy Chambers (2nd), Tamiko Robinson Steele (3rd) Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2018
Best Theater Company Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2018
Best Theater Company (local) (3rd Place) Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2019
Board Member of the Year 2004 - Donald Capparella Center for Nonprofit Management 2004
First Night Award - Show of the Year 2014: As You Like It BroadwayWorld.com 2014
National Coverage The Wall Street Journal 2010
National Coverage Sports Illustrated 2012
National Coverage The New York Times 2013
National Coverage The New York Times 2014
National Coverage The New York Times 2015
National Coverage on '60 Minutes Sports' CBS News 2014
National Coverage on 'All Things Considered' National Public Radio 2012
Official North American Selectee for 'Shakespeare on the Road' Documentary Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust 2014
Theater Company of the Year First Night Awards 2019
Top Ten Outstanding Actresses - Caroline Amos, Carrie Brewer (Richard II) BroadwayWorld.com Nashville Critic's Pick 2017
Top Ten Outstanding Directors - Sean Martin (Richard II) BroadwayWorld.com Nashville Critic's Pick 2017
Top Ten Outstanding Nashville Theatrical Events of 2012: Julius Caesar BroadwayWorld.com 2012
Top Ten Outstanding Plays - Richard II BroadwayWorld.com Nashville Critic's Pick 2017
Best Stage Fight Choreography MACBETH Nashville Scene Critics' Pick 2020
Best Theater Company (3rd) Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2020
Best New Arts Partnership (Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Kennie Playhouse Theatre) Nashville Scene Writers' Choice 2021
Best of Nashville - Best Theater Company (3rd Place) Nashville Scene Readers' Poll 2023
Best of Nashville - Best Modern Twist on a Classic Comedy Nashville Scene Writers' Choice 2023

CEO/Executive Director/Board Comments


The staff of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival has always been small and mighty. Dozens of seasonal and contract employees, plus hundreds of volunteers with the guidance of the staff, make the work of the company possible. With the addition of several new programs in recent years, there are now 7 full time staff members plus a contracted accountant and a dedicated volunteer Volunteer Coordinator. The strategic plan involves more revenue and grant-worthy education, as well as fundraising programming that will support the administration of those programs while improving the quality of the presentations.